STATE OF BUSINESS: A Touch of Chill

After scooting along at sprinter's pace, the recovery seemed ready to slow down a bit to catch its breath. The Commerce and Labor departments reported last week that unemployment in mid-December rose nearly twice the normal seasonal increase, pushing the jobless totals above 4,000,000 and 6% of the labor force. Employment also slipped nearly 700,000 to 64 million. To some sensitive economists, the report brought worries that the recovery might be losing its zip. But the slowdown in employment, as had been expected (TIME, Sept. 29), was chiefly due to weather.

Winter's...

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