Specialists Joe Parisi, left, and Michael Cacace work at a post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.WASHINGTON – The U.S. economy appears to be gathering momentum ahead of the critical holiday shopping season.
It’s growing faster, corporate profits are rising and companies are laying off the fewest workers in six years, government reports show.
“The momentum looks strong,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at the Bank or Tokyo-Mitsubishi.
Encouraging as the latest figures are, hopes for a robust finish to 2013 hinge on strong hiring. And that depends, in part, on what the government’s November jobs report shows when it is released on Friday.
The recovery from the Great Recession that ended 4½ years ago has come in fits and starts. And even Thursday’s government report that the economy grew at a robust annual rate of 3.6 percent from July through September was hardly cause for celebration.