New York ? The nation’s largest retailers reported only modest sales gains for May, as rainy weather in certain regions and a weak job market kept shoppers from splurging for yet another month.

“It is a little better than expected, but we still haven’t broken out of a sluggish pace yet,” said Michael Niemira, vice president of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.

Among the retailers releasing their May results Thursday was Wal-Mart, which reported a 2.1 percent increase in sales at stores open at least a year, known as same-store sales. Analysts had expected a gain of 2.2 percent. Total sales were up 10 percent.

Apparel stores for the most part reported sluggish sales, with a few exceptions such as Gap Inc., which said same-store sales rose 10 percent. Total sales for Gap were up 14 percent.

Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ltd.’s same-store sales tally of 72 stores’ results was up 2 percent in May, slightly higher than expected.