Page 7 - Aruba Today

U.S. NEWS A7
Friday 27 November 2015

US Financial Front:

Signs of steady economy: Rising pay and solid job market

A “Help Wanted” sign hangs in a store window in New York. The only 0.1 percent in Oc- timistic picture. According fell in November to its low-
Conference Board released its November index on U.S. con- tober, though that weak to Gallup, Americans plan est point in more than a
sumer confidence on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015. showing occurred partly to spend on average $830 year. It found that fewer
because the month was on holiday shopping this Americans expected their
(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) unusually warm and Ameri- winter — the most since incomes to rise. Even so,
cans paid less for heat. In 2007, just before the reces- Americans are unleashing
C. S. RUGABER With the U.S. job market on the second and third quar- sion officially began. pent-up demand for big-
AP Economics Writer solid footing and wages ters, consumer spending And consumer sentiment ticket items such as homes
WASHINGTON (AP) — beginning to rise, the Fed topped 3 percent, a histori- ticked up this month, ac- and cars. Sales of new
Americans’ pay is up, is widely expected to raise cally robust level. cording to a survey by homes jumped last month
fewer people need un- short-term rates in mid-De- With incomes revised high- the University of Michi- and have increased 15.7
employment aid, more cember for the first time in er, the savings rate jumped gan. Lower and middle- percent through the first 10
are buying new homes nine years. last month to 5.6 percent, income Americans were months of 2015.
and business spending is Wages and salaries jumped the highest since 2012. more optimistic about their Home sales have been bol-
rebounding. A flurry of data 0.6 percent in October, the “History tells us that a chunk personal finances in the stered by strong hiring and
released Wednesday sig- Commerce Department of that savings will eventu- coming year than higher- low mortgage rates. Sales
naled that the fundamen- said Wednesday, and data ally get spent,” said Ste- income households were, of existing homes are on
tals of the U.S. economy for the spring and summer phen Stanley, chief econo- the survey found. Still, a track to reach their high-
remain solid, if unspectacu- was revised substantially mist at Amherst Pierpont. separate measure of con- est level since 2007, even
lar, three weeks before the higher. U.S. paychecks Measures of consumer con- sumer confidence from though rising prices are
Federal Reserve will likely were 4.9 percent higher in fidence have been mixed the Conference Board, sidelining many potential
begin raising interest rates. October than they were a but generally paint an op- a business research group, buyers.q
Consumers appear rela- year earlier, a sizable gain.
tively confident in the econ- By contrast, in the first four
omy and may be poised years after the Great Re-
to spend a decent chunk cession ended in 2009,
of their rising incomes dur- paychecks typically rose
ing the holiday shopping only about 2 percent to 3
season. In addition, busi- percent. “The extra growth
nesses are stepping up their in wage income is good
investment in machinery news for retailers hoping
and equipment, removing for a strong holiday shop-
a persistent drag on the ping season,” said Jim
economy. O’Sullivan, chief U.S. econ-
The steady consumer omist at High Frequency
and business demand in Economics.
the United States is power- O’Sullivan forecasts that
ing the economy through the economy’s annual
economic pressures from growth rate could reach
overseas, which jolted fi- 2.7 percent in the final
nancial markets during Au- three months of the year,
gust and September and from 2.1 percent in the third
raised doubts about global quarter.
growth. Consumer spending rose