U.S. retail sales climbed by 0.6% in February boosted by a 2.7% jump in automobile sales.

The Commerce Department said the February increase came after sales rose by a revised 0.2% gain in January. January’s modest increase turned out to be a much better showing than the 0.3% decline reported a month ago.

The February advance, which matched economists’ expectations, represented the largest increase since November. February’s gain was led by a 2.7% jump in automobile sales, the biggest increase in nearly a year.

Sales at clothing stores, electronics and appliance stores, and department stores also posted gains. But sales slipped at furniture stores, sporting goods, book and music stores, and health and beauty shops. Sales were flat at building and garden supply stores.

Excluding sales at automobiles dealerships, sales at all other retailers were flat in February, following a strong 1.2% rise in January. Economists, however, were forecasting a 0.5% increase in this measure for February.

In a separate release, the U.S. Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims fell by 6,000 last week to 341,000.

The numbers were in line with analysts’ expectations.

RBC Financial notes that the four-week moving average moved back down to below the 350,000-mark to 345,700 for the first time since January and continuing claims fell to a new post-recession low of 3,032,000.

“Jobless claims continue to point to an improving labour market; claims have fallen below 400,000 on a sustained basis since the last quarter of 2003, and more recently have moved into the below-350,000 territory, which normally suggests very strong job growth,” RBC says. “Employment itself is definitely on an upward trend, it is just moving more slowly than expected, likely influenced by strong gains in productivity. With rising industrial production and the lack of an adequate inventory buffer in the U.S., it appears to be only a matter of time before jobs gains that are more commensurate with the economic expansion begin to appear.”

Nevertheless, BMO Nesbitt Burns says, “Markets will worry about jobs until the official numbers finally show some gains. But, new claims are virtually never wrong and the trend now has settled in the growth zone.”