pace

The U.S. economy creates jobs at the fastest pace in 9 months and the jobless rate drops to an almost 3-year low, raising hopes that the labor market is picking up steam.

Private employers added 170,000 jobs in January, a new report shows. That's about half the pace needed to dig out of the jobs trench the U.S. is stuck in.

U.S. economic growth picked up speed in the final three months of 2011, expanding at the fastest pace in 1-1/2 years, according to new data released Friday.

In another sign of an improving job market, there's evidence that over the past few months women have begun to gain jobs at a pace roughly on par with men.

U.S. consumers, who are more confident than they have been in eight months, were lured to auto showrooms by holiday discounts and may have pushed car sales to the second fastest pace in more than two years.

Having trouble finding work? You might want to move. An analysis of job growth patterns found that your odds of getting a job vary widely based on big differences in the pace of job growth from one state to the next.

U.S.

China's grain harvest will post its eighth consecutive increase this year but consumers will still face moderate price rises as supplies struggle to keep pace with growing demand.

Consumer spending rose at its fastest pace in five months in July, supporting views the economy was not falling back into recession.