We’re continuing to see signs that we could be nearing the end of the recession.
One of the big numbers that came in last week was a 1.6-percent rise in durable good orders. This is an indication of a rise in manufacturing activity, which is a very good thing.
Existing home sales also rose by 0.3 percent – not a lot, of course, but any increase in home sales at all shows that we’re in a bottoming process in the housing market, which is another good sign for the economy.
Productivity also increased in the first quarter by 1.6 percent. Typically, productivity decreases in a recession, so having an increase during this recession will help us come out of it quicker, and with better economic productivity.
And although we’ll likely continue to lose jobs through the rest of the year, the rate of job losses has dropped dramatically, which often happens at the end of a recession.
Taken all together, it seems likely that, at some point later this year, we’ll finally be out of the recession.
