U. S. retail sales witnessed a rise of 2.5 percent this year, pointing that store chains have still managed to deliver positive results amidst the worst of the downturn as improvements in the housing and job markets bolster shoppers' confidence, a trade group forecast on Tuesday.

"Retailers are following through on their strategy to get their houses in order during the recession so they are positioned to be strong players as the recession ends", says Dan Butler, vice president of retail operations for the National Retail Federation.

U. S. retailers reported their holiday retail sales up by 1.1 percent in 2009, according to the NRF, surpassing its own forecast for a 1 percent drop in sales for the November-December period.

In addition, the 2010 forecast from the National Retail Federation outlines an expected positivity from a 2.5 percent drop in 2009 and a 1.3 percent increase in 2008, covering retail industry sales but excluding automobiles, gas stations, and restaurants.

The figures for the U. S. workers applying for unemployment benefits surprisingly rose in the week ended Jan. 16, while regional manufacturing squeezed in January, hinting at some slowing in the pace of economic recovery.

"The hope is that as the year goes on, we'll see improvement in the job market. When that happens, we'll see a better consumer confidence level, we'll see higher incomes, and that will all contribute to making consumers feel better and loosening up the pocket book", Wells said.