BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Retail spending in East Baton Rouge Parish rose 8 percent in June and is up almost 9 percent for the year. That's according to figures released by the city-parish finance department.

The Advocate reports (http://bit.ly/TJosl5 ) the numbers, which do not including vehicle sales, indicate businesses and consumers spent $696 million in June compared to $644.2 million the same month a year ago.

Spending inside the city limits was up 5 percent in June, while spending in outlying areas of the parish was up 12 percent. For the year, those areas are up 5 percent and 13 percent, respectively.

The vehicle sales category continued its strong run, with sales up 29 percent to $58.0 million. Vehicle sales are up 16 percent for the year.

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Information from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com