Historic jobs recovery
Hiring remains surprisingly resilient. The economy added a robust 263,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate is just 3.7% — down dramatically from nearly 15% in the spring of 2020.
“This is one reason to the be optimistic the economy could skirt a recession,” Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi told CNN on Thursday. “Without mass layoffs, it’s unlikely consumers will stop spending and the economy suffer a downturn.”
Inflation is cooling
The cost of living is still way too high, but the rate of inflation appears to have peaked.
Consumer prices soared by 7.1% year-over-year in November. At almost any other point in the past 40 years, that would be alarmingly high. But this marked the fifth-straight month of improvement and a significant cooldown from 9.1% in June. It’s also the lowest annual inflation rate in nearly a year.
If this trend continues, it could significantly lower the risk of a recession. But if inflation remains well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, that would be problematic.
Gas prices have plunged
The No. 1 headache for consumers for much of this year has eased considerably.
After spiking above $5 a gallon for the first time ever in June, gas prices have plunged. The national average for regular gasoline recently dropped to $3.10 a gallon, an 18-month low, though it has crept higher in recent days to about $3.22 a gallon.
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