The last time the unemployment rate was running this low was in early 2008. But by Election Day that year, the economy was in sad shape and getting worse by every measure. Hundreds of thousands of jobs were vanishing, housing prices were plunging, paychecks were shrinking and credit was tight.
On Friday, in the last economic snapshot before voters go to the polls, the government reported that the jobless rate fell to 4.9 percent in October, matching the level in February 2008. Today, though, most economic bellwethers are showing improvement. Particularly encouraging was the fact that hourly wages rose 2.8 percent compared with a year ago, the best gain in more than seven years.
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