Dec 21, 2010

Holiday shoppers spending more, yet caution reignsBy Dean Calbreath

Although a light rain and cool temperatures put a damper on the last weekend shopping day before Christmas, the upsurge in retail sales this season has already brought some early gifts to the local economy.

Retail sales in San Diego County are nearly 9 percent ahead of last year, according to the latest data from the San Diego Association of Governments.

And that influx of spending has led to an uptick in hiring.

Since the beginning of September, retailers have added 3,700 workers, compared to 1,100 last year. By November, there were 500 more workers at retail stores than the previous November, marking the first year-to-year gain in monthly employment in the retail industry since August 2007.

“It’s very good news that retail is growing,” said SANDAG economist Marney Cox. “What it shows is that despite the high unemployment rate, there is job growth going on locally, the economy is beginning to expand and there is some pent-up demand from people who have been holding up on their purchases for the past two or three years.”

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