Retail sales rose 0.4% in September, better than expected; jobless claims dip

Consumer spending held up in September, underscoring a resilient economy that is now getting a boost from the Federal Reserve, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

Retail sales increased a seasonally adjusted 0.4% on the month, up from the unrevised 0.1% gain in August and better than the 0.3% Dow Jones forecast, according to the advance report.

Excluding autos, sales accelerated 0.5%, better than the forecast for just a 0.1% rise. The numbers are adjusted for seasonal factors but not inflation, which rose 0.2% on the month as measured by the consumer price index.

In other economic news Thursday, initial unemployment claim filings totaled a seasonally adjusted 241,000, a decline of 19,000 and lower than the estimate for 260,000, the Labor Department reported.

Claims fell even following hurricanes Helene and Milton, which tore through the Southeast in recent weeks exacting tens of billions of dollars in damage. Filings in both Florida and North Carolina declined after jumping the previous week, according to unadjusted data.

Stock market futures were higher after the reports while Treasury yields also rose.

Together, the reports show that consumers, who power about two-thirds of all economic activity in the U.S., are still spending and the labor market is holding up after signs of weakening through the summer.

On the retail side, spending grew at miscellaneous store retailers, which showed an increase of 4%, as well as at clothing stores (1.5%) and bars and restaurants (1%). Those increases offset a 1.6% drop at gas stations as fuel prices fell, along with declines at electronics and appliances stores (-3.3%) and furniture and home furnishing businesses (-1.4%).

Sales increased 1.7% from a year ago, compared with the CPI