Folks who have been waiting to see the better days ahead, signs are beginning to say that we are arriving at the beginning of that! The economy grew at a 3.5 % annual pace in the July-September period. We all want to see smiles on faces this holiday season, and now according to these new economic statistics, those smiles just might be a reality…HALLELUJAH….
In the third quarter, business productivity grew at the fastest pace in six years. That is at a 9.5% annual rate. Companies have been squeezing more output from a smaller labor pool in order to cut their costs. Hopefully no one is being forced to work TOO hard! Analysts do not see much more room for more cuts and feel that this, coupled with the economy’s recent growth in the third quarter, may cause companies to start increasing salaries. As it stands, compensation per hour has jumped at a 3.8 percent pace.
Also good is that claims for unemployment aid fell to a 10-month low, just last week. The number of claims dropped 20,000 down to 512,000. This is the lowest since January.
The Federal Reserve also expressed optimism that an economic recovery is on the heels. The U.S. Central Bank left its benchmark overnight lending rate unchanged near zero and pledged to keep it there for an extended period, just to play it safe.
Furthermore, U.S. stock index futures added to gains after the economic data. Big thanks for this recovery will be due to the government’s stimulus package.
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