A recent survey shows that businesses are still declining in May despite optimism that the market was starting to pick up.

This shows that shoppers are still wary about spending money in this difficult times.  CBI which took the survey of many retailers said that 31% of retailers reported rising sales in May compared to last year May.  48% reported falling sales in May, giving a net balace of 17%.  Which gives a good balance of +3%, in April, which some analysts hoped had marked the beginning of a retail recovery.

The CBI has said the decline has slowed down compared to 40-50% negative balances seen in January, which is giving signs that the end of the recession is not to far away, possibly by the end of 2009.

A decline in consumer spending by money struggling shoppers fearing for their jobs drove the sharp fall in GDP, of 1.9%, in the first three months of 2009.