Consumer Spending Up .5 Percent in April

WASHINGTON – Consumers' incomes dipped in April but that didn't stop them from spending briskly.

The Commerce Department reported Friday that personal incomes fell by 0.1 percent in April, following a robust increase of 0.8 percent in March.

Consumers' spending -- a key ingredient to a healthy economy -- rose by a strong 0.5 percent in April, following a 0.4 percent gain in the previous month.

The spending figure was stronger than the 0.4 rise economists were expected. But the incomes figure was weaker; economists were calling for a 0.3 percent rise.