diane swonk, let's start with focus on the positive signs in today's report. this was better than expect. where was the hiring coming from? >> well, we saw broad gains in a lot of different places. some of the biggest games were in things like transportation. it wasn't just those free shipping that we saw there. we actually saw a lot of couriers and messengers being used by corporate america that were loosening their coffers on all that cash they have on their balance sheets. we also saw a lot of hiring in the food and hotel industry, the entertainment industry, again corporations returning to all of that kind of holiday spending they once did, entertaining their clients and their workers. so those people who are working got a few more holiday parties this holiday season. >> brown: so mark vitner, what else did you see that was positive? what about the quality of these kinds of jobs. >> well, the quality of jobs has improved. it's improved a little bit and it needed to. because in the previous four or five months we really saw a lot of jobs being added in low-

diane swonk, chief economist at mesirow financial, and david kelly, chief market strategist at j.p. morgan funds. diane, david, nice to have you with us, and lots to talk about. so let's just get going. diane, i'll begin with you. we've seen month of economic reports showing the u.s. economy is getting better. based on what the feds said today is it saying it's having its doubts? >> certainly the fed marked down its forecast from last november which was already weak. and i think what we're seeing is what we've seen many times, instead of henling in the other direction, in 2010 we thought the economy was reaccelerating and then we lost momentum at the beginning of 2011. similar experience at the end of 2011, we finally saw a blip in growth and there's a fear that we'll lose momentum again as we move into 2012, and that's exactly what we are seeing out there. >> susie: david, last night president obama says that the economy is getting stronger, and today chairman bernanke said that it's too soon to say that we're in a stronger new phase. what's your take on all this? >> well, i actuall

diane swonk from mesirow financial. hey, diane, good to see you. happy new year.rs continue to look pore positive. economic growth numbers look like even europe might not pull us into a recession. the second question everybody asks about 2012 is what about europe. the first one is what is the economy going to do? what about europe. >> europe is one of the biggest risk factors out there. european debt situation is a european banking crisis. as we know from our own banking crisis in 2008, there's nowhere to hide if europe really does melt down and the eurozone fails to maintain the euro. the risk is still out there. i have a lot of faith those in the eurozone are committed to making this work. that said it's going to be a very rocky year. every day, day in and day out, we find financial markets are watching what the italian bond auction is, what the spanish bond action is, german, french bond auction. this is odd. that means we really aren't decoupled. you can have a reacceleration of growth in the united states but this is a head wind for us, not only because direc

diane swonk, chief economist at mesereau financial, the economy we learned the u.s. economy grew at 2.8% in the fourth quarter, the last three months of 2011, compared to a year ago. it's nothing to sneeze at, 2.8%, nothing to celebrate either. we're looking back all the way into 2010. and what economic growth has done, it's come down, it's leveled out and then it's started to go up again. i guess the theme of this recent recovery is slow and steady and it's a major part of the reason why the federal reserve chairman, ben bernanke, says he's not ready to pop the champagne corks when it comes to people getting back to work. listen to what he said. >> in light at the anticipated modest pace of economic recovery, the committee expects that over coming quarters the unemployment rate will decline only gradually. >> all right. so let's just take stephen's point for a second, diane, and put aside the fairness discussion whether or not you think it's correct and talk about growth. what comes first in the recovery of this economy, economic growth or jobs which put money in pe

joining me now, diane swonk, chief economist at mezerau financial. happy new year. >> happy new year to you. >> unemployment rate down to 8.5%, best number in about three years. but nitpick this number for me. was it as good as it looks like on the surface? >> i wish i could say it was. the trend is in the right direction, but what's interesting, we got some jobs in construction that were really largely due to the fact that it's been 60 degrees here in chicago. not usual for december weather. that unseasonably mild winter weather really disturbs construction figures. we also saw a big gain on retail. a lot of people thought it was on-line sales, but we saw corporate america loosen its coffers a bit and spend in the holiday season. they did their holiday parties again, they used hotels forr their holiday parties, they stepped up their entertainment, but that was corporations, not consumers. the one positive thing is we're seeing anecdotally, it looks like new business formation is picking up. small businesses -- new small businesses starting to hire a

. >> reporter: economist diane swonk at chicago's mesirow financial says the biggest head wind is still the gridlock in washington. >> it never had to be as much of a political strategist to forecast the economy. >> reporter: do you think politics is just freezing this economy? >> i think politics is a major negative on this economy and everyone from leaders in europe to leaders in the middle east to leaders in china, leaders in the u.s. are all to blame. >> reporter: the rancor and indecision in washington, swonk says, are discouraging businesses from making investments or hiring. >> pelley: anthony, a point that came up in the newsroom today is that growth is sluggish even though interest rates have been at historic lows for a very long time. >> reporter: scott, you can look at this two ways, i think. the first is remember the economy looked like it was on the brink of a recession last summer, so 2.8% growth now looks pretty good. on the other hand, it's not enough to put a dent in the unemployment rate. the fact is the economy is actually producing more now than it was at the beginni

so we will watch this all very closely with both of you, diane swonk, stephen moore, two good friendsf our show whom you will see all year long as we track this economy. >>> you want another optimistic sign for the economy? big trucks are back. we'll look at what else is driving the shocking comeback of the u.s. auto industry up next. man on tv: ...rbis and 36 homers. swings at the first pitch and fouls it deep back into the stands. [ding] [fans whirring] announcer: chill raw and prepared foods promptly. one in 6 americans will get sick from food poisoning this year. check your steps at foodsafety.gov. >>> well, almost exactly three years ago, we were talking about the american auto industry on life support. but now in 2012, things are looking up. take a look at the big year for the big three. chrysler saw sales in the u.s. jump 26%. in fairness from a very low base. general motors was up 13% and ford gained 11%. the senior editor of "changing gear" has a new blog, voyages that you need to check out on forbes.com. like myself, mickey, you're a car fanatic and you were at the detroit a

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