New York City ? Americans bought a sweater or two, ate out a little more, purchased some gadgets and turned to the Internet in search of bargains in January. These small indulgences nevertheless provided some relief to suffering stores, boosting retail sales by 1 percent.

The unexpected increase from December, reported by the Commerce Department on Thursday, reversed a six-month decline and marked the biggest increase in 14 months.

But it’s far too early to break out the champagne. With nearly 5 million Americans still drawing unemployment benefits late last month and the specter of more layoffs to come, economists believe the reversal is unlikely to last.