[The Conference Board's latest help-wanted index, also released on Thursday, contributed to the tepid mood. The index fell a point to 37 from 38 in July. Help-wanted advertising volume has pretty much remained unchanged during the past six months.] Overall economic momentum is no longer firing on all cylinders, ... And hiring intentions this summer are suggestive that companies may not increase hiring until the economy regains more solid footing. |
[The] latest readings suggest the U.S. economy may be poised for some recovery, ... for the next few months. |
A large portion of the declines in ads in November and December are seasonal declines as businesses cut back recruitment ads during the holiday season. |
A weakening national situation is not good news for the Gulf Coast area. Some workers seem reluctant to move to an area where the labor market was already weak. |
Add this to the negative impact of the hurricanes and flooding, resulting in lost jobs and incomes, and lost output, and we could be in for slower growth through the end of the year. |
All the folks writing stories about the double dip ought to just delete that file. There are no guarantees, but the train is leaving the station. |
begin to make way for a better economy this fall. |
Both investment and hiring intentions reflect a level of caution over both pricing and profit strategies. |
Consumer income remains very strong and now there are bargain prices for a lot of new products that are just coming out to the market, big new computers, new DVD audio equipment, |
Consumer sentiment about job prospects over the next six months dipped in January. Thus, not only are the indicators suggesting modest gains in hiring, but consumers also do not think more new jobs will start opening up this spring. |
Consumer spending remains the mainstay of this weak economic recovery. With tax cuts enacted, the consumer is likely to continue hanging in there, ... But a real recovery, including a slowdown in layoffs and the opening of new jobs, is far more dependent on recovery in (business) investment than on stronger consumption growth. |
Consumer spending remains the mainstay of this weak economic recovery. With tax cuts enacted, the consumer is likely to continue hanging in there. But a real recovery, including a slowdown in layoffs and the opening of new jobs, is far more dependent on recovery in (business) investment than on stronger consumption growth. |
Consumers are concerned that wages are not keeping pace with inflation, and managers feel they can't raise prices. It's difficult to imagine how both can be satisfied in 2006. |
Down the road, there are significant consequences in terms of what could be developing with the federal budget. |
Essentially the story is we have got moderate growth through the first quarter. We may tick up in the second quarter and we may tick down in the third quarter. Growth is going to be a little slower second half of the year. |