EconomicCrisis.US

Increasingly confident U.S. consumers and businesses are spending more on cars, machinery and other goods, a trend that likely boosted manufacturing activity in March.

Economists forecast that the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index increased last month to 53.4, according to a survey by FactSet. That would be up from 52.4 in February. Readings above 50 indicate expansion.

The private trade group of purchasing managers will release the report at 10 a.m. Eastern on Monday.
Read the rest of this entry »

Chairman Ben Bernanke says the U.S. job market remains weak despite three months of strong hiring and that the Federal Reserve’s existing policies will help boost growth.

Further job gains will likely require more robust consumer and business demand, Bernanke said Monday during a speech at the National Association for Business Economics spring conference in Arlington, Va.

Bernanke’s comments suggest the central bank is prepared to keep interest rates near zero for some time.

“Despite the recent improvement, the job market remains far from normal,” Bernanke said. “The number of people working and total hours worked are still significantly below pre-crisis peaks.”
Read the rest of this entry »

The United States added 227,000 jobs in February in the latest display of the economic recovery’s surprising breadth and brawn. The country has put together the strongest three months of pure job growth since the Great Recession.

The unemployment rate stayed at 8.3 percent. It was the first time in six months it didn’t fall, and that was because a half-million Americans, perhaps finally seeing hope in the economy, started looking for work.

The Labor Department also said Friday that December and January, already two of the best months for jobs since the recession, were even stronger than first estimated. It added 41,000 jobs to its total for January and 20,000 for December.
Read the rest of this entry »

While business and consumer spending are helping revive the U.S. economy, less than 10 percent of metropolitan areas have recouped all the jobs lost during the recession that ended in 2009, a report found.

Only 26 of the nation’s 363 metropolitan areas have seen employment rebound to pre-recession peaks, according to the report, prepared by forecaster IHS Global Insight and released by the U.S. Conference of Mayors today. Nearly 80 areas aren’t expected to see such a recovery for more than five years.
Read the rest of this entry »