At this point, however, the labor market, while not nearly as robust as we would wish, appears at least to be stable. The financial health of firms If consumers have done their part and more for the economic recovery, so far the dog that hasn't barked is the business sector.
True, firms have distinguished themselves in at least one way: The increases in productivity we have seen in the nonfarm business sector over the past two years have been truly remarkable, particularly in light of the fact that productivity growth is typically weak during cyclical declines. Clearly, managers have dedicated themselves to producing more with less and to raising profits by cutting costs.