A passel of data reports documented healthy signs for the American economy, with unemployment down, personal income up and conditions improving in general.
Overall, the national economy "continued to expand across most regions in October and November," said the Federal Reserve Board's Beige Book report released Wednesday. Earlier, the minutes of the Fed's Open Market Committee meeting pointed to favorable growth rates in several economic data sets, and noted that the Fed staff expects GDP growth to accelerate as the year ends.
Personal income ticked up in October by 0.6 percent, outpacing spending, which was 0.3 percent, according to the Census Bureau. Unemployment rates were lower in October in 231 of the nation's metro areas, and payroll employment was up in 311 areas compared to a year ago, the Labor Department said.
National output (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 3.2 percent in the third quarter, as profits jumped by $133.8 billion, compared to a second quarter drop of $12.5 billion, said the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
However, Fed members decided to hold off yet again in boosting its key interest rate immediately, as they wait for "some further evidence of continued progress."
Even so, that could happen "relatively soon" if incoming data support some action, perhaps at the Fed's next meeting, which is scheduled for December 13-14.
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