There was a 0.4 per cent lift in cafes and restaurants while the biggest sector, food retailing, lifted by 0.1 per cent. The nation's two biggest retail states, Victoria and NSW, went backward during the month. Sales in Victoria dropped 0.4 per cent while they were off by 0.2 per cent in NSW. Annual growth in Victoria has slipped to 1.3 per cent, well short of the state's population growth rate of 2.1 per cent. Spending in the state's cafes and restaurants and on takeaway meals has also fallen by 1.2 per cent since October. NSW's annual growth rate has dropped to 1.5 per cent. Purchases through NSW department stores and clothing sales have both fallen over the past 12 months. Asia-Pacific economist with online job site Indeed, Callam Pickering, said retail conditions were looking incredibly weak leading into the vital Christmas shopping season, with signs the usual Yuletide employment bounce might also come up short.

Loading "The Christmas shopping season appears likely to be a stinker, at least compared with recent years. Retailers are hiring fewer staff in the lead-up to Christmas and that suggests that they expect a lacklustre Christmas bounty," he said. "As long as wage growth remains low, the retail sector will struggle. There might be brief moments of improvement or positivity but that is unlikely to persist until households start receiving greater wage gains." There is some hope shoppers may have been holding back ahead of last month's "Black Friday" sales. Tracking of Commonwealth Bank credit and debit cards suggest an 87 per cent jump in Black Friday sales compared to the three weeks running up to the day.

Online spending through department stores and on electronic goods was up 238 per cent on the average November daily spend, and instore spending was up by 153 per cent. There were also big increases in clothing and home furnishing purchases. However, the lift around Black Friday may eat into the usual lift in sales that occur through December if shoppers sought to lock in big discounts on selected items. Prime Minister Scott Morrison says it is up to consumers to decide whether to spend or save their tax cuts. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Mr Morrison said it was up to consumers to decide what to do with their tax cuts, saying if they saved the extra cash they were following the lead of the federal government by improving their finances.

"What Australians do with their own money is up to them. We have made Australians in their economic circumstances stronger by ensuring that they can keep more of what they earn," he said. The state of the economy, and its impact on voters, will be a key theme in a speech to be delivered by shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers in Sydney on Saturday. Jim Chalmers says "people feel like no matter how hard they work they just can't get ahead". Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Dr Chalmers will argue anaemic economic growth, record high household debt, static living standards and low wages growth are all contributing to a lift in populist politics. "This is why suburbs and towns feel cut off from prosperity and opportunity and why populism has flourished," he will say.