The Commerce Department said Wednesday that personal incomes were up 0.4 per cent in November, helped by a $16.1-billion increase in wages and salaries, reflecting the drop in unemployment that occurred last month.

The gain in incomes helped bolster spending, which rose 0.5 per cent in November.

Both the income and spending gains were slightly less than economists had expected.

Consumer spending is closely watched because it accounts for 70 per cent of economic activity. A revival in spending this summer, spurred by the government's popular Cash for Clunkers programme, helped lift overall economic growth back into positive territory, the strongest signal yet that the US has emerged from its deepest recession since the Great Depression.

The government on Tuesday trimmed its estimate for third-quarter growth in the gross domestic product to an annual rate of 2.2 per cent, down from a previous estimate of 2.8 per cent.

Still, GDP showed positive growth after a record four consecutive quarters of declines.