As the sovereign debt crises continues in Europe and the Euro lies thrashing on it's deathbed here in the US, employment growth picked up speed in November, and the unemployment rate dropped unexpectedly to two and a half year low of 8.6pc.
Nonfarm payroll numbers increased to 120,000, a little under forecasts of 122,000 and down on market chatter of 150k+. But it's a strong improvement on October's 80,000.
Data ranging from manufacturing to retail sales suggest the growth pace could top 3pc in the fourth quarter - in stark contrast to slowing China and Europe.
The employment counts for September and October were also upgraded, with 72,000 more jobs created than previously reported. Unemployment had been forecast to hold at 9pc.
"The labour market is gradually healing. It's a glacial pace, but we are taking small steps in the right direction," said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
The figures also suggest the economy is tilting towards the private sector. Government employment fell by 20,000 while private sector employment rose by 140,000.
Europe's approaching recession first took hold in Spain, Portugal, and Greece, and the economic woes are now spilling over into the euro zone's core of France and Germany,
S&P has once again cut its 2012 real GDP growth forecasts for France to 0.5% from 0.8%, Germany to 0.8% from to 1%, and Italy to 0.1% from 0.2%.
So, at this moment in time, the US is the strongest of the weak however with the Fed flooding the international debt markets with cheap dollars this week, we can only be set for an inflationary spiral the likes of which this country has never experienced before. The Fed is making things a whole lot worse by keeping the Euro's life support system switched on. The kindest thing for all would be to switch it off, let it die a natural death and prepare for the firestorm which is set to engulf us.
