The US economy is ending 2011 on a roll. The job market is healthier. Americans are spending eagerly on holiday gifts. A long-awaited turnaround for the depressed housing industry appears to be under way. Gas is cheaper. Factories are busier. Not bad for an economy faced with a debt crisis in Europe and, as recently as this summer, scattered predictions of a second recession at home. Instead, the economy has grown faster each quarter this year, and the last three months should be the best. “Things are looking up,” says Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. When The Associated Press surveyed 43 economists in August, they pegged the likelihood of another recession at roughly one in four. There was plenty of reason for gloom. A political standoff over the federal borrowing limit brought the United States to the brink of default and cost the nation its top-drawer credit rating. Most analysts now rule out another recession. They think the economy will grow at an annual rate of more than 3 percent from October through December, the fastest pace since a 3.8 percent performance the spring of 2010. Many economists still worry that the year-end surge isn't sustainable, in part because the average worker's pay is barely rising. And Europe may already be sliding into a recession that will infect the United States. Yet for now, the economy is on an upswing that few had predicted: — JOBS: The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits came in at 366,000 last week, down from a peak of 659,000 in March 2009. Even in good economic times, the figure would be between 280,000 and 350,000. Employers have added at least 100,000 jobs five months in a row, the longest streak since 2006. And the unemployment rate fell from 9 percent in October to 8.6 percent last month, the lowest since March 2009. Small businesses are hiring again, too, according to the National Federation of Independent Business. Business is up at AG Salesworks in Norwood, Massachusetts, which helps technology companies like Motorola find new customers. The firm has hired 26 workers to restore its staff to 56, erasing the job cuts from the recession. CEO Paul Alves plans to add an employee or two a month as long as growth continues. “I do see more confidence than I saw 12 months ago,” Alves says. “But it's good, not great. Robust isn't the word I'd use.” The holiday shopping season has turned out better than anyone expected. Sales from November through Saturday were up 2.5 percent.
