April 6 (Bloomberg) -- March sales at U.S. retailers may have increased as much as 10 percent compared with a year earlier, the International Council of Shopping Centers said. Warm weather and the April 4 Easter holiday, which fell eight days earlier than last year, helped lift sales last week, ICSC Chief Economist Michael Niemira said in an e-mailed statement today. Sales tied to Easter probably accounted for 6 percentage points of last month’s gain. The industry group’s previous maximum forecast for March was 3.5 percent.
Retail sales have rebounded this year along with consumer confidence and the job market. Employment in March grew by the most in three years, adding 162,000 workers. The Conference Board’s confidence index rose to 52.5 last month from 46.4 in February.
