Spending growth is strong in the pandemic-affected services sectors that are reopening, with spending at restaurants and bars increasing 3 percent in April after surging 13.5 percent in March. The shift in the spending data from March to April provides a useful reminder to exercise caution in extrapolating from individual data points in the current environment.
Growth this year is expected to be the strongest in decades as the economy bounces back from the depressed level associated with the pandemic.