Americans picked up their spending from October to November as the unofficial holiday season kicked off, underscoring that shoppers still have power to keep buying.

Retail sales rose 0.3%, in November from October, when sales were down a revised 0.2% according to the Commerce Department on Thursday. That is a little stronger than expected. Excluding car and gas sales, sales were up 0.6%.

At restaurants, business rose 1.6%., while sales at furniture stores rose 0.9%. Online sales rose 1%. Electronic and appliance sales, however, were down 1.1% Sales at department stores fell 2.5%. The figures aren�t adjusted for inflation.

The urge to spend for Americans appears to have some running room, even after a blowout summer. Consumer spending jumped in the July-September quarter.

U.S. employment data last week showed that employers added 199,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate declined to 3.7%. Inflation has plummeted in little over a year from a troubling 9.1%, to 3.2%. While that’s still above the desired level, the economy by most counts is likely to avoid the recession many economists had feared, a potential side effect of U.S. attempts to cool inflation.

Yet people remain gloomy, according to the University of Michigan�s Index of Consumer Sentiment. The preliminary December figures issued Friday showed moods have improved as more people see inflation cooling.

(AP)