Compare that with last October's 1.4% increase over September retail sales, and that's actually a decrease in growth. But that's a statistical-interpretation that messianic-liberal newspapers only use in regards to things like unemployment filings; i.e. "New jobless claims have dropped 20% this quarter" -- which means that 80% as many people as last quarter lost jobs this quarter, but the wording makes it sounds like jobs opportunities are on the rise.
The speed at which our economic troubles are increasing is decreasing, and the speed at which our retail sales are increasing is also decreasing; it looks like everything is coming to a standstill.