If your wallet is feeling a bit lighter these days, it’s probably because you’ve done your part over the past few weeks to give the retail sector a needed boost. Holiday spending in the 50 days before Christmas this year was up 5.5 percent over 2009, which yielded a 4 percent increase over 2008.

The New York Times reports the spending explosion topped the predictions of even the most optimistic analysts. Clothing and jewelry spearheaded the national shopping spree, seeing respective rises of 11.2 percent and 8.4 percent.

How did your spending this year compare to years’ past?

Retail Sales Rebound, Beating Forecasts [The New York Times]

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