Here's something you haven't heard in years: The U.S. economy had a great week.
In recent days, government and industry reports have showed auto and new-home sales are surging, manufacturing is strengthening and the trade deficit is narrowing. And the U.S. growth rate shot to 3.6 percent in the third quarter — much better than the 2.8 percent originally reported.
Now for the best news of all: the Labor Department said Friday that employers created 203,000 jobs last month, sending the unemployment rate tumbling by three-tenths of a point to 7 percent, the lowest level since 2008.
The Labor report also showed that in November, companies created lots of full-time positions, paid their employees more and attracted discouraged workers back into the labor force.
And this was really encouraging: The job gains were spread over lots of industries, including those that pay more, such as manufacturing and construction. Manufacturers added 27,000 workers, pushing total factory employment to more than 12 million for the first time since 2009. Construction companies added 17,000 workers, a healthy number.
"The November jobs report was quite strong with jobs, wages and average hours worked all up," Stuart Hoffman, chief economist for PNC Financial Services, said in his assessment. "The jobs report is very good news for the American economy and for business profits."
Another government report on Friday, this one from the Commerce Department, showed that personal spending rose 0.3 percent in October from the previous month. Because consumer spending is a key driver of the U.S. economy, that was a positive sign too, especially given the negative disruptions caused by a government shutdown in October.
But since this was a real week, and not a dream sequence, there had to be at least one downbeat note. The Commerce Department said personal income slipped 0.1 percent in October, largely because of a decline in farm incomes.
Planet Money
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