The Retail Spending Drop Is Not the Biggest Ever

The 2.8 percent fall in retail sales is the biggest single-month drop ever! Right? Not so much.

Here's the caveat most reports (but not all) aren't noting: "Ever" in this case dates back to ... 1992.

As a Commerce spokesperson told my colleague Terry Atlas, they rejiggered how they measure these things 16 years ago. So it's certainly a steep drop. CNNMoney says it could be the worst since a 6.5 percent drop in January 1987.

But "ever" is along time—certainly longer than 16 or 21 years. 

• Click here to read more by Robert Schlesinger.
• Click here to read more about the economy.

Reader Comments Read all comments (1)

Add Your Thoughts

Comment Name State Select One AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY International Email

Please enter the two words below into the text field underneath the image.

Incorrect please try again

Enter the words above: Enter the numbers you hear:

Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.