Industrial production in the U.S. increased in December, boosting hopes that the economic recovery gained further traction in the last month of 2010, according to The Wall Street Journal. On Friday, the Federal Reserve said that industrial production added 0.8% in December from the previous month’s level, led by a 4.3% rise in utility output. Manufacturing was seen 0.4% higher, which Dean Maki of Barclays Capital called “solid but not spectacular growth” that signals a transition to a more dependable, demand-driven phase of the economic recovery.
Meanwhile, the Conference Board reported that global productivity is expected to slip in the coming year as employment begins to catch up with the recovery in advanced economies. The report outlines a projected slowing in U.S. labor productivity growth from the 2.8% increase seen in 2010 to roughly 1.1% in 2011, with the number of hours worked expected to add 1% this year. The think-tank projects a 2.5% increased in U.S. gross domestic product in 2011.
Click here to read the story on industrial production from The Wall Street Journal.
Click here for coverage of productivity also from The Wall Street Journal.