Retail sales gained at their fastest pace in more than a decade in February as the economic recovery spread to households, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Monday.

Sales rose 4.2 percent from a year earlier, METI reported, the biggest monthly jump since 1997. The median estimate of 12 economists surveyed was for a 1.6 percent climb.

An export-fueled recovery and emergency stimulus spending are beginning to create jobs and support wages, improving prospects for companies like Dydo Drinco Inc. and Seven & I Holdings Co.