‘Definite Signs’ Of Mass. Economy Bottoming Out

There are signs the Massachusetts economy may be on the rebound. Analysts point to a large drop in new unemployment claims, rising auto sales, a 10 percent jump in home sales in June and increasing consumer confidence.

At the same time, though, analysts say the recovery is only in its early stages and that unemployment will yet rise.

Cathy Minehan, former head of the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston and now chair of the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers, joined us to discuss.

Bob Oakes: Do you view these signs as positive signs that maybe the economy is starting to rebound?

Cathy Minehan: I definitely look at them as positive signs. I do not think the rebound is going to be really fast or really strong, but it’s certainly better than continuing to decline.

When you look at the data that you mentioned in your introduction, when you look at the leading index that’s prepared by Alan Clayton-Matthews at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, when you look at the data for Massachusetts, when you look at leading indicators, when you look at the data for the national economy, you see either a diminution in the rate of decline or you see things actually starting to turn around.