The US Commerce Department said this morning that consumer spending fell 0.5 percent in September – the largest single month fall in nine months. While the overall economy grew in the quarter ending in September, government spending programs and other initiatives helped inflate the results, and once the programs wound down, consumers immediately cut back.
This is causing concern with economists who worry that the recovery could stall in the next quarter as consumers are still facing continuing unemployment and a growing foreclosure rate. For this reason, analysts warn that a “double-dip recession” cannot yet be ruled out.
