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Sandy slowed consumer spending and pay in Oct.
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By The Los Angeles Times
Published: Saturday, December 1, 2012, 12:01 a.m.
Updated: Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Consumer spending dipped in October, the first decline in five months, as Superstorm Sandy took a big bite out of paychecks in the Northeast.
Personal consumption expenditures fell by $20.2 billion, or 0.2 percent, last month compared with September, the Commerce Department said Friday. Income growth was basically flat in October, increasing $800 million, or less than 0.1 percent.
Both figures came in below analyst expectations of about a 0.1 percent rise in spending and a 0.2 percent increase in personal income.
The Commerce Department said the impact of Sandy, which hit the East Coast on Oct. 29-30, was felt in 24 states, particularly in New York and New Jersey. Work interruptions reduced wages and salaries by about $18.2 billion, the agency said.
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