WASHINGTON — Only a few months ago many economists warned that a recession was not just inevitable, it was around the corner. Inflation would take years to curb. Surging unemployment was on its way.
But a funny thing happened on the way to hard times: The "Big R" for the U.S. economy now looks like it's "Resilience," not "Recession," as economists at Bank of America recently put it.
Instead of showing a slowdown in hiring last month, as normally happens in the prelude to a recession, employers added more than half a million jobs. Unemployment, which rises during a downturn, plunged to 3.4%; it hasn't been this low since the spring of 1969.
