It wasn't the blockbuster, early Christmas present that construction industry executives were secretly wishing for, but the housing starts report for November at least delivered another big increase over the year-ago figure. 

The Department of Commerce's New Residential Construction Report for November showed housing starts at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 861,000. That's 3.0% below the downwardly revised October estimate of 888,000, but 21.6% above the November 2011 rate of 708,000.

A report released Monday by the Commerce Department showed that retail sales in the U.S. climbed more than anticipated in September, boosted by unexpected increases in household spending.

Sales advanced 1.1% in September, on the heels on a 1.2% increase in August that was the biggest since October 2010. The median forecast of 77 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 0.8% rise in September.

Housing starts fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 746,000 in July, down 1.1% from the revised June estimate of 754,000, according to the Residential Construction report from the Commerce Department. This is 21.5% above the July 2011 rate of 614,000. 

Housing starts increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 717,000 in April, up 2.6% from the upwardly revised March figure, and up almost 30% from April 2011.

The April Residential Construction from the Commerce Department report showed surprisingly strong housing starts combined with a decline in housing permits -- just the opposite of the March 2012 report. In April, building permits declined 7.0% to a rate of 715,000, after hitting a three-year high in March.

Residential construction data from the Commerce Department released Tuesday morning shows housing starts declined 5.8% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 654,000. But building permits were the strongest since September 2008.

Single-family housing starts held steady at 462,000, compared with 463,000 in February.

Residential construction in January was healthier than expected.

Housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 699,000, up 1.5% from 689,000 in December, according to data released Thursday morning by the Department of Commerce. But more encouraging: The January rate is up 9.9% from the same month a year ago.

Most analysts were looking for a figure anywhere from 645,000 to 671,000 for the month of January.

Construction spending during November 2011 rose 1.2% over the previous month, according to an estimate released by the Department of Commerce, which posted a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $807.1 billion. The increase was the third in four months and followed a revised 0.2% drop in October.

The November figure is slightly higher (0.5%) than November 2010’s construction spending estimate of $803.0 billion.

Close followers of the Commerce Department's monthly residential construction data have been wondering all month if September's strong showing in housing starts could sustain itself.

The answer was delivered this morning by the latest data, sort of. Housing starts officially slipped 0.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 628,000. 

Chicago -- The unofficial quote of the day came from J. Walker Smith, executive chairman of The Futures Co.: "Screw the economy; you can still be successful in your business."

U.S. retail sales in September grew at their fastest pace in six months, beating forecasts and rising 1.1%, the Commerce Department reported. Excluding the auto sector, sales rose 0.6%, also better than expected. The increase gave retailers renewed hope for the upcoming holiday season. 

The Commerce Department also reported that sales for August, which were originally reported as unchanged, were revised up to a 0.3% increase.

Consumer spending for June dropped 0.2% to $21.9 billion, the Commerce Department announced Tuesday. 

The drop in consumer spending marked the first decline seen since September 2009.

Meanwhile, personal income was virtually flat, increasing 0.1% to $18.7 billion for the month, which was in line with estimates.