U.S. retailers saw the smallest increase in sales since a drop in June in the latest numbers from the U.S. Department of Commerce, according to Bloomberg.

Sales were up 0.3 percent in January from December. However, sales were up 7.8 percent compared with last January. The January numbers follow a 0.5 percent increase in December, down from the 0.6 increase previously estimated.

“We’ll see consumer spending growing this year, albeit at a moderate pace,” said Guy LeBas, chief fixed-income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in Philadelphia, in an interview with Bloomberg. “Unemployment remains stubbornly high.”

Eight of 13 major retail categories experienced an increase in January, led by a 0.5 percent increase for auto dealers and a 1.3 percent increase at grocery stores.

Retail chains also had a good month, as sales at stores open at least a year at 30 chains tracked by Retail Metrics were up 4.4 percent for the 17th straight month of gain.

Restaurants didn’t have such a good month, as restaurant receipts dropped 0.7 percent, the largest decrease since March 2009.