Patrick Fearon
Patrick Fearon
quarters sneeze straight three
We've now had three straight quarters of above-average growth, and that's nothing to sneeze at.
demand existing hard healthy hiring hold onto reports suggesting trying
Firms are trying very hard to hold onto their existing workers. Other reports are suggesting firms are also hiring new workers. All that translates into a healthy demand for labor.
demand expect high numbers period quite range within
The numbers are still quite healthy, they're still well within the range you would expect in a period of high demand for labor.
additional boost disruption further gasoline helped looks potential prices
It looks like the potential disruption has helped to further boost gasoline prices and that could be some additional headwind for the economy.
housing impact january jump looks starts trend warm weather
It looks like warm weather had a big impact so the big jump in January housing starts can be attributed to that. However, the moderating trend in housing really is still in place.
certainly conspiracy eat economists gods seems words
It seems like this is a conspiracy by the gods to make us economists eat our words when we said manufacturing was back on its feet. It's certainly a disappointing number.
certainly growth key lower rate
It's certainly lower than expectations so in that sense it was a disappointment, but the key thing is that this is still appreciably better as a growth rate than the long-term average, which is only about 3 percent,
consumer course
It's an encouraging sign, but of course we have a long way to go before you would say that the consumer is very optimistic.
albeit consumer continuing economic fact good growth labor market momentum positive reflects sign start year
It's a good sign that the consumer has some momentum going into the start of the year and that probably reflects the fact that the labor market is continuing to improve, albeit modestly. It's a positive for economic growth this year.
clear continues economy holding interested remains workers
It remains pretty clear that corporations are interested in holding on to their workers as the economy continues to expand.
cushion department economy figures katrina labor message numbers positive result says shows strip underlying
The positive message is that if you strip out the numbers that the Labor Department says are the result of the hurricane, the underlying figures are still pretty decent. That shows that there was some cushion in the economy before Katrina hit.
certainly gasoline resulting spike weigh
There is certainly more going on than just hurricanes and a resulting spike in gasoline prices, ... could weigh on people's attitudes.
definitely level looking modest previous remain revision
We did have a modest upward revision in the previous week's claims, but we remain under the psychologically important 400,000 level and that's definitely something that we've been looking for.
claims close energy leading level months spike typical weekly
We're getting close to the weekly level of new claims that was typical of the months leading up to the late-summer hurricanes and the spike in energy prices.