WASHINGTON – The Commerce Department’s U.S. Census Bureau today released retail sales data for July 2011. Retail sales increased 0.5 percent, similar to private-sector expectations, and sales in May and June were revised upward, each by 0.2 percent. Motor vehicle sales increased 0.5 percent in July, and sales at gasoline stations jumped 1.6 percent. Sales excluding those at motor vehicle and parts dealers and gasoline stations also rose 0.5 percent.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Acting U.S. Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank issued the following statement today on the release of the June 2011 U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services report by the Commerce Department's U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Today's report showed that U.S. exports of goods and services in June 2011 decreased 2.3 percent from May 2011 to $170.9 billion. The monthly export value for U.S. consumer goods ($15.0 billion) was the highest on record. U.S. imports of goods and services decreased 0.8 percent over this period to $223.9 billion, causing the U.S. trade deficit to increase 4.4 percent since May 2011 to reach $53.1 billion in June 2011.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commerce Department’s Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA) today issued the second in a series of reports on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) jobs and higher education.

As expected, the report, Women in STEM: A Gender Gap to Innovation, finds there are fewer women than men in STEM jobs and attaining degrees in STEM fields. But interestingly, that’s true despite the fact that the wage premium for women in STEM jobs is higher than that for men and that there’s greater income parity between genders in STEM fields than there is in the employment market as a whole.

Women in STEM: A Gender Gap to Innovation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis today released the advance estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2011. Today’s release also contained revisions to prior years. Real GDP grew 1.3 percent at an annual rate, below private-sector expectations of 1.8-percent growth and up from 0.4-percent growth in the first quarter, which was revised down from 1.9 percent. The most notable revision was to 2009, where GDP growth was revised down 0.9 percentage points, indicating that the recession was even more severe than initially estimated. GDP has now grown for eight consecutive quarters.

WASHINGTON – The Commerce Department’s U.S. Census Bureau today released data on new residential construction for June 2011. Housing starts surged 14.6 percent in June, easily surpassing private-sector expectations of a 2.7-percent increase. Permits for new housing units also beat expectations, increasing 2.5 percent in June following an 8.2-percent jump in May. Private-sector analysts had expected a 2.3-percent drop in permits from May to June.