THANKS, UR!:

That was the 100th straight month of job growth -- by far the longest streak since the number has been tracked in the 1930s.

And the economic expansion is now just five months shy of a record. As one example, factory production picked up steam last month, rising to 56.6 on the Institute for Supply Management Index (above 50 means expansion), up from 54.2 in December.

"Usually, as expansions go on, they slow down a little bit. But it's really unclear when that is going to happen," said Martha Gimbel, research director at Indeed's Hiring Lab.

"Job seekers are still in the driver seat," said Andrew Chamberlain, chief economist at Glassdoor, the jobs site.

But, but, but: Though wages grew by 3.2%, or 1.3% after accounting for inflation, that is about half what it should be, said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM.

"At this point in the business cycle, we traditionally have 4% to 5% nominal wage gains," he said, and about 2.5% after inflation.

"It was another month of anemic gains in hourly wages," Brusuelas said.

Barring any more damage from Donald, this stands to be the strongest recovery in history.  If the recent limitations on the free movement of goods and people are removed there's no reason in sight for it to end.  If Donald's successor joins the TPP it will be a huge help too.
Posted by Orrin Judd at February 2, 2019 7:12 AM

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