THE NEW YORK TIMES: A feared recession didn’t materialize, but unemployment rose, wage growth slowed and affordability challenges are mounting.
After a chaotic year filled with trade wars, market gyrations and the longest government shutdown in history, the U.S. economy has, once again, proved more resilient than many forecasters feared.
But “resilient” isn’t quite the same thing as “good.”
Many Americans are entering 2026 worried about their jobs, stressed about their finances and unconvinced that things will improve in the new year.
The flow of official economic data resumed last week after a prolonged delay caused by the government shutdown. The reports were muddled by technical quirks related to the shutdown, but on balance they suggested the economy remained stuck in the same uneasy limbo it was in before the data blackout began.
Job growth was decent in November, but unemployment rose. Retail sales were solid, but wage growth slowed. Inflation cooled, but remains elevated. » | Ben Casselman and Colby Smith | Monday, December 22, 2025
When it comes to economics, Donald Trump is incompetent. There is one very important fact that Trump never learned. It is this: a well-run economy should work for ALL, not just for the SELECT FEW, for the WORKER as well as for the BOSS, for the POOR as well as for the SUPERRICH. — © Mark Alexander
