The recovery in the labor market during the second half of 2003 and the first half of this year appears to be a sign that employers are now more confident about the economic outlook and are attempting to return workloads to a more-sustainable level.
One prominent concern is that, if the labor market remains weak, household confidence will suffer, with detrimental consequences for spending. Although layoffs seem to be diminishing, surveys indicate that households continue to be worried about the condition of labor markets.