US sales are up, but expectations are tempered by the reemerging pandemic.

Due to the United States’ attempts to begin reopening the country in the last several months, retail sales have managed to show a slight improvement, slightly bypassing expectations held by economists.

According to new data from the US Department of Commerce, retail sales in the US rose by 7.5% in June on top of the 18.2% rise the month prior. Not only is this a decent boost, it actually beat out economist projections for the month. According to economists polled by Reuters, retail sales were only expected to rise 5% in June.

Businesses that were forced to close our reduce operations when the pandemic hit the United States in full force in March have been attempting to reopen and re-expand, or at the very least adapt their business practices to accommodate social distancing and quarantine advisories. Unfortunately, these slight gains likely won’t bolster the economy in any notable fashion, nor are they expected to be sustainable.

The US economy is currently in a recession brought about by the pandemic that started in the spring. Additionally, since the pandemic started spreading, over 17 million Americans have filed for full or partial unemployment benefits, with over 1 million new filings appearing in the last week alone. Without steady work, families are finding it more difficult to set aside money for vital purchases like food and insurance, which will likely reflect in the economy in the not-too-distant future.

As a fresh wave of COVID-19 cases grips the southern United States, many businesses that were attempting to reopen have once again been shuttered. While the gains of June are no doubt positive, it is unlikely that they will be indicative of the near future.