Some good news on the employment front! The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released their January 2012 report on the employment situation showing private sector employment increased 257,000 -- the largest increase since April 2011 (264,000).  In addition, private sector employment gains were revised upward by 58,000 in November and 8,000 in December.  Over the past 23 months, the private sector has added jobs every month for a total of nearly 3.7 million jobs.  

One of the first available indicators about the U.S. economy in 2012 is the measure of retail sales of light vehicles and the news is good: January saw new sales just under 14.2 million (at an annual rate), up from 13.6 in December 2011.  This is highest monthly level since May 2008 (even higher than the August 2009 spike, or as I like to call it “Mount Cash-for-Clunkers”).

Like many other economic indicators (such as GDP, Employment, and Personal Income) construction spending finished the year on an upward trend as we move into 2012.  Total construction spending in December 2011 was $816.4 billion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, up 1.5 percent from the revised Nove

Washington, DC. The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis today released data on personal income and outlays for October 2011. Personal income rose 0.4 percent in October, exceeding private-sector forecasts of a 0.3 percent increase. Wages and salaries, the largest part of income, rose 0.5 percent. Real consumer spending edged up 0.1 percent, compared to expectations of a 0.3 percent rise. This followed a pickup of 0.5 percent in September, however.