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The pickup in hiring reflects some modest improvement in the economy. Growth will likely top 3 percent at an annual rate in the final three months of this year, economists expect. That would be better than the 1.8 percent growth in the July-September quarter. Europe is almost certain to fall into recession because of its financial troubles. And without more jobs and higher incomes, consumers may have to cut back on spending. Both could drag on growth next year. Congress removed one potential threat last week when it agreed to extend a payroll tax cut and to keep emergency unemployment benefits for two additional months. Both programs were scheduled to expire at the end of this month. Economists worried that ending the tax break and the extended unemployment benefits program would have left Americans with less money to spend. About 7.2 million people are receiving benefits, as of the week ending Dec. 10, the latest data available. That's an increase of about 80,000 from the previous week. That figure includes about 3.5 million laid-off workers that are receiving benefits under an extended benefits program put in place during the recession.
[Associated
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