As long as Americans keep spending, the economy is all but certain to sidestep a recession in 2020 for a record 11th straight year.
The crucial question is, can they? And the answer seems to be, quite clearly, yes.
What’s put a sturdy foundation under the economy is the best labor market in decades. The U.S. added 145,000 new jobs in December to cap off the ninth straight year in which the economy created more than 2 million new jobs.