Surging Business Activity Is Driving Recovery in the US

The recovery of the U.S. economy is being driven by accelerating output from American firms according to the latest data from Decision Analyst's November U.S. Economic Index. The overall Index pushed up to 111 in November, the highest level reached in the last 12 months. Measured business activity was up strongly, reaching a monthly level matched only once in the last two years (in March 2002).

'The economy has clearly now moved into a period of solid expansion', said Jerry W. Thomas, President and CEO of Decision Analyst. 'Confidence is on the rise, and now we see the fruits of that increased confidence in terms of real growth'.

The November Economic Index witnessed a big jump in business activity, with the related Index component rising four percent over the previous month's level. Concurrently, both job security and corporate hiring trends reached their highest Index levels in more than a year. Confidence in the stock and bond markets remained virtually unchanged from last month, remaining firmly above the depressed levels seen since the middle of 2000.

The Decision Analyst Economic Index is based on a monthly Internet survey of several thousand households balanced by gender, age, and geography. The survey is conducted during the last 10 days of each month, and the Index is immediately calculated from nine different economic measurements, using a sophisticated econometric model. The result is a snapshot of current U.S. economic activity, as seen through the eyes of representative consumers. Decision Analyst also conducts concurrent economic surveys in Canada, the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Mexico and Australia. Whenever the Decision Analyst Economic Index is greater than 110, it tends to signal an expanding economy. An Index value of 100 to 110 suggests a stagnant economy, and below 100 generally indicates economic contraction. These guidelines vary by country, however.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.

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