Recovery Pace Slows, But This Is Normal
I The numerous indices used to measure business showed again this week that economic conditions arc healthier than at this time last year. ThatÛªs not surprising Ûª because business last February had declined so steeply everyone knew there was a recession. ,In the latest week department store sales ran 9 per cent aboveÛªlast year, power companies turned out 8 per cent more electricity, banks cleared 18'/2 per cent more checks, railroads loaded 6 per cent more freight cars and steel mills turned out more steel than 'at any time in nearly two years.</br></br>There were a few discordant items. The stock market at times continued to experience [February jitters, an affliction [common at this time of year to markets in which speculation is a factor. But the mar-jket displayed substantial re-[covery power after a Monday price break.</br></br>The Government reported [that unemployment in January rose by 616,000 to 4.724,000, highest for any January since before World War II. It was</br></br>This prompted George Mcany. president of the AFL-|CIO. to comment, ÛÏJoblessness is still AmericaÛªs No. 1 problem, despite other signs we are pulling out of this recession.Û</br></br>There could hardly be any arguing with this statement, although it should be noted ithat unemployment is down (since last June, when it totaled 5.437.000. The basic ;trcnd. despite the seasonal mpturn in January, has been Û¢down since June.	, j Nevertheless, it appears the ÐÊ belt-tightening undertaken by business during the recession means less manpower is now needed to turn out the same amount of goodsÛÓor even [more goodsÛÓthan before the recession.