The Post reported on the rise in consumption spending in August and noted the rise in purchases of non-durable goods. It qualified the 1.0 percent reported increase, saying: "still, August is the peak of the back-to-school shopping season, and many states held sales-tax holidays to encourage consumers to spend -- another temporary government stimulus."
States have sales tax holidays every August. This would be factored into the seasonal adjustment that the Bureau of Economic Analysis applies to the data. The August sales data would only be boosted by these tax holidays if there were more this year or they were more generous than usual.
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