Retail sales went up 0.4% in April from March, the Census Bureau just reported.

And while that was a slowdown from the 2.1% gain in March from February, sales have now gone up seven months in a row and were 8.8% above the level of April 2009. All in all, the Associated Press says, the news offers hope "that consumer spending will keep supporting the economy in the months ahead."

Update at 9:20 a.m. ET: The Federal Reserve just reported that "industrial production increased 0.8 percent in April after having risen 0.2 percent in March." Reuters says the increase was greater than had been expected and is "further evidence that some sectors of the economy are humming along despite persistently high unemployment."

Planet Money figures out what such numbers mean over here.