Retail sales surged the most since November 2008 last month as the number of unemployed slid for a third consecutive month, the State Statistics Service said Monday, signaling that domestic demand may help drive the recovery. The jobless rate in June fell to 6.8 percent, the lowest level in 20 months, from 7.3 percent in May, the service said. Retail sales rose for a sixth month, jumping an annual 5.8 percent after growing 5.1 percent in May. Real wages gained 5.5 percent and disposable incomes advanced 1.4 percent, the report said. The rise in employment and consumer spending may give companies the confidence to boost investment as the world’s biggest energy supplier recovers from its worst recession since the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991. The economy expanded an annual 2.4 percent last month, the fastest pace since November 2008, according to VTB Capital.
“The huge state spending spree continues to show up in both real wage and retail sales data,” Credit Agricole Cheuvreux said in a report before the release. “The spending outlook is good, particularly as the unemployment rate continues to show a downside trend.” The government may raise its 4 percent forecast for economic growth this year as the outlook continues to improve, Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina said July 15. Fixed capital investment rose an annual 7.4 percent last month, its fourth monthly gain and the biggest jump since September 2008. Industrial production climbed for an eighth month in June, rising an annual 9.7 percent after a 12.6 percent increase in May.
