On the program this Thursday, we'll dabble in the labor markets.

We'll drive by the auto industry and we'll go to a spa.

From American public media, this is Marketplace.

In law, In Los Angeles, I'm Kyle Rizzdahl.

It is Thursday.

Today, this one is the 27th of February.

Good as always to have you along, everybody.

We measure this economy, as you know, within an inch of its metaphorical life. Those measurements come in varying degrees of importance, and today we got a biggie gross domestic product,

how much this economy grew in the fourth quarter of last year, 2.3% on an annualized basis,

exactly in line with expectations, although to be clear, a bit slower than

third quarter growth. We also got this morning, courtesy of the Commerce Department, orders for

durable goods, stuff that's supposed to last three years or more. Those orders were up in January,

and when you set aside the always volatile and very expensive categories of defense and airplanes,

orders for capital equipment were up almost 1%. That's the third monthly increase in a row.

And as Marketplace's Justin Ho reports, those orders can shen some light on how businesses are

thinking about things in this economy.

A big reason economists pay attention to durable goods orders is because an order today can be a leading indicator.

An order captures the demand for goods that will get produced and later shipped.

That's Bernard Yaros, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics.

He says a pickup in orders is a good sign for the

manufacturers that make durable goods and the companies that buy them. That's because investing

in equipment can help those companies boost productivity. You know, especially if this equipment

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