Jobs report will help measure U.S. economy

WASHINGTON—The U.S. economy is growing faster, corporate profits are rising and companies are laying off the fewest workers in six years.

The latest government reports point to economic momentum in the midst of the critical holiday shopping season.

“The momentum looks strong,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.

Encouraging as the latest figures are, hopes for a robust finish to 2013 hinge on strong hiring. And that depends, in part, on what the government’s November jobs report shows when it is released on Friday.

The recovery from the Great Recession that ended 4 1/2 years ago has come in fits and starts. Unemployment remains high at 7.3 percent. And growth has yet to reach the acceleration that defined U.S. economic recoveries for much of the past half century.

Even Thursday’s government report that the economy grew at a robust annual rate of 3.6 percent from July through September was hardly cause for celebration.

Nearly half the growth came from businesses building up their stockpiles, a temporary factor. Excluding stockpiling, annual growth last quarter was a mere 1.9 percent.

Unless consumers step up spending during the holiday season, stockpiling is likely to slow.

Most economists foresee a sharp slowdown in growth during the October-December quarter as businesses do less stockpiling. Early estimates for economic growth are at or below an annual rate of 1.5 percent.