U.S. News: Industrial, Labor Gains Persist Amid Tumult
U.S. economic activity appears to be holding steady despite market convulsions over fears of a global slowdown, with American manufacturers and employers showing new signs of stability.</br></br>Industrial production rebounded strongly in September and capacity utilization climbed to its highest level since June 2008, the Federal Reserve said Thursday.</br></br>Meanwhile, the number of new claims for jobless benefits fell last week to the lowest level since 2000, the Labor Department said, signaling continued payroll gains ahead. As a share of the U.S. labor force, claims are now lower than any time since record-keeping began in the early 1970s.</br></br>"Manufacturing is strong and with jobless claims at the lowest level in over 14 years, it is clear that the economy and Wall Street are in different worlds," said Joel Naroff, who runs an economic-forecasting firm in Holland, Pa.</br></br>U.S. employers have added 227,000 workers a month on average this year, the best annual pace of job growth since 1999. Manufacturing payrolls have increased in 15 of the past 16 months, and the average workweek of factory workers in recent months has neared its highest levels since World War II.