‘Hope’ and finally some ‘change’ in the jobs report

For eight years, economic indicators repeatedly came below forecasts. Now, there’s been a string of reports — the latest one is on jobs — that have outperformed economist predictions. What’s changed, we wonder?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that the economy added 235,000 jobs in February, when economists expected 200,000 new jobs. And that comes after January’s 227,000 gain, which also beat economists’ forecasts by a substantial margin.

 

That’s not all. Other recent indicators have come in better than economists had expected.     

In January, 31% of Americans rated the economy as “excellent” or “good,” while 21% said it was “poor,” resulting in a current conditions score of +10 — marking the highest monthly reading for this component since 2008.  

The economic outlook component also reached a new high score of +11 in January. This score was the result of 52% of Americans saying economic conditions in the country were “getting better,” while 41% said they were “getting worse.”