By Sarah Chaney and Gwynn Guilford

WASHINGTON--U.S. consumer spending fell by a record 13.6% in April during coronavirus lockdowns, but there are signs that purchasing is starting to pick up.

The April decline was the steepest for records tracing back to 1959. Weak April spending adds to the evidence that the U.S. economy is in for a long, slow recovery. The coronavirus pandemic and related lockdowns wiped out a decade of job gains within a month.

Personal income, which includes wages, interest and dividends, increased 10.5% in April, primarily reflecting a sharp rise in "government social benefits" through federal coronavirus stimulus programs.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 29, 2020 08:55 ET (12:55 GMT)