The institute reported that the rise was primarily due to foodstuffs, which increased by 1.3% on the month of March and that saw year-on-year growth surge from 3.9% in March to 5.2% in April.

Meanwhile, sales in the non-foodstuff categories continued stable with the annualised March rise of 1.3% maintained throughout April.

In overall terms, retail sector sales put on 1.2% month-on-month contrasting with a 5.3% contraction in March.

The indexes for employment, remuneration and number of hours worked, adjusted for the effects of the calendar turned in annualised increases of 2.8%, 5.0% and 1.6% respectively in April and up from 2.7%, 4.3% and 3.5% in March, the report concluded.