2014 Economy Finishes Vigorously: Evidence is Overwhelming

Gross domestic product soared 5% on an annual basis in the third quarter -- that according to the US government report on GDP this week. It was icing on the cake for an economy that is now humming along.

To put that in perspective, it is the strongest quarter of growth since 2003.  That's right: the best quarterly growth in 11 years!

"...There is no doubt the economy has been great this year," said Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG LLC.

Others on Wall Street agree and continue to send the stock market to record highs with the Dow index now crossing 18,000 for the first time ever.

Growth came from all major segments with business investment, consumer spending, housing, exports and government spending all showing signs of robust strength in this week's report.

All of those healthy reports explain why hiring has increased dramatically this year. Employers added 321,000 jobs in November, making 2014 the strongest year for job growth since 1999.  Again -- underscore this and make no mistake: this year has been the best year for job growth in 15 years!

Finally...for the first time in seven years, more than half of Americans think the economy is in good shape, according to a new CNN/ORC poll released on Tuesday. That marks a big improvement from October when just 38% of Americans said economic conditions were somewhat or very good.

Happy, Happy Holidays!

GNE

U.S. economy grew at 3.5 percent in 3rd quarter

The U.S. economy grew at a very solid annual rate of 3.5 percent in the July-September quarter, propelled by solid gains in business investment, export sales and the biggest jump in military spending in five years.

The Commerce Department says that the third quarter result followed a 4.6 percent rebound in the second quarter of 2014. 

All Job Losses During The Great Recession Have Been Erased

It has been way too long since my last post.  Sorry folks!  But these numbers -- many just published by Factcheck.org -- are well worth passing on to everyone:

§  All job losses during the great recession have been erased.

§  In June the economy added 200,000+ jobs for the fifth month in a row -- 288,000 in June alone.  The five month streak is the longest since the late 1990s.

§  The Unemployment rate is now at 6.1% -- you may remember that the unemployment rate was at 10.1% at the height of the great recession.

§  Corporate profits and stock prices continue to set record highs.

§  The number of food-stamp recipients has retreated from the record high of 2012; fewer beneficiaries have been added under Obama than were added under George W. Bush.

§  Under Obama, federal spending has risen more slowly than the rate of inflation. 

§  Auto sales -- a consistently bright spot in the recovery -- heated up even more in June. They clocked in at 17 million at an annualized rate for the best month in eight years.

§  Gallup polling found that 45 percent of Americans were working full-time in June, one of the highest rates since the polling company began tracking the figure. 

§  The government data released Thursday mirrored those results, with the employment-to-population ratio rising to 59 percent, the highest level since 2009.