By Anneken Tappe, CNN Business
The economic recovery was stronger than initially thought in the fourth quarter of last year, new data from the Commerce Department showed Thursday. But for many Americans it didn’t feel that way.
US gross domestic product — the broadest measure of economic activity — grew at an annualized pace of 7% between October and December, just above the 6.9% that was first reported in January and in line with economists’ expectations.
While the recovery was chugging along comfortably, Americans faced soaring prices and a new wave of infections and virus-mitigating restrictions spurred by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Fourth quarter inflation stood at 6.3%, according to the price index tracking consumer spending, slightly less than the 6.5% initially reported. Stripping out food and energy costs, however, price hikes accelerated faster, with core inflation at 5% rather than the 4.9% first reported.
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The U.S. jobs recovery
America’s jobs recovery didn’t lose steam in the new year and a key measure of jobless claims dropped to its lowest level since March 1970, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Continued claims for unemployment benefits, which count people who have filed for jobless aid for at least two weeks in a row, dropped just below 1.5 million in the week ending February 12, adjusted for seasonal swings, marking the lowest level since the week of March 14, 1970.
Last week’s initial jobless claims stood at 232,000, adjusted for seasonality.
Editor’s Note: These two stories were published independently on CNN Business earlier Thursday. We’ve combined the stories, as two separate topics, in our publication and presentation of these topics on WRAL TechWire. According to CNN, both of these stories, and these topics, still developing stories, and will be updated. Another major report on the state of the U.S. talent market and existing labor shortage came out this week, and WRAL TechWire has published a story covering that report as well.
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