U.S. economy

The U.S. economy is humming as President Trump prepares to speak on the state of the union. The stock market is up, and unemployment is down. Some of these gains began before Trump took office.

Before catastrophic hurricanes hit the U.S., economists had been expecting an even stronger showing for the third quarter.

The decline in employment, the first in years, comes after 83 months of job growth. The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that the data probably show the short-term effect of recent hurricanes.

America's workers are subject to more physical harm and emotional stress than you might think, but many of these challenges can be mitigated by a good boss and good friends.

The last time the U.S. ranked No. 1 in a key economic index was 2008. Key issues cited in the 2016 report: America's problems with its infrastructure, health and primary education systems.

The monthly jobs report fell short of expectations, both in terms of job growth and the unemployment rate. Economists had anticipated 180,000 new jobs and a slight drop in unemployment.

Candidates are talking about taxes and trade, but not about the tsunami: the massive wave of automation that will transform the workplace.

While consumers continue to spend, business investment was down, suggesting that companies are growing nervous about the future.

Both 1968 and 2016 can be seen as good years for the economy. And yet both may be remembered for their extreme political discontent. Shouldn't good economic times make us less cranky? Apparently, not.

The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at very low levels. Fed policymakers expressed worries about job growth, so they did not want higher rates to further cool hiring.