Consumer spending at major retailers dropped in May, the 10th month in a row of same-store sales declines, according to a survey by Goldman Sachs and the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Overall same-store sales fell 4.6 percent, according to the Goldman Sachs study, worse than the 3 percent drop predicted.

Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, has posted gains but stopped reporting its sales numbers in May. Other major retailers are still showing year-to-year declines, with Target’s May 2009 sales down 6 percent from May 2008, Costco’s sales were down 7 percent and Macy’s sales down 9 percent.

While consumer confidence has lifted, shoppers still aren’t ready to open up their wallets at the cash register, citing fears about job losses and falling home prices. Consumers are spending money on necessities like food and health care, said the Associated Press.

“I think the initial panic is over, but now the tough work begins. We’re entering a slow summer period when there’s not a lot to attract consumers into the stores,” BMO Capital Markets analyst John Morris told the Associated Press.

A rise in home sales is fueling optimism that the country is clawing its way back from the recession.

Sales of previously owned homes rose 2.9 percent in April, bringing annual sales to 4.68 million, a report from the National Association of Realtors said.

But the good news was tempered by a separate report that said that as mortgage costs rose, applications for home loans fell to their lowest level since early March, according to LiveMint.com.

The number of unsold homes also rose 8.8 percent, but analysts chalked up the rise in inventory to the beginning of the busy spring buying season, said LiveMint.com.

Economists see the general economic outlook brightening with job losses and unemployment claims dropping and consumer confidence on the rise.