Sep. 20--It's far from time to dance in the streets or burst into choruses of "Happy Days Are Here Again." But maybe not quite as far as it seemed just a short while ago.

And the Columbus area might be closer than most.

Economic indicators are up everywhere -- nationally, at state level and locally. Dry statistics and percentages don't mean much, granted, to somebody still looking for work or struggling to keep bills paid, food on the table and the wolf away from the door as expenses rise and paychecks -- for those still getting them regularly -- shrink. But they signal that the crunch might be easing.

Fed Chief Ben Bernanke announced earlier this week that the recession is technically over. That's not something an official, even the chairman of the Federal Reserve, can just decree, like Congress designating a holiday. It does represent an informed statistical assessment of the state of the economy, and what the trends portend.

On the home economic front, first-time economic claims dropped dramatically in August -- a full 36 percent decrease in people applying for jobless benefits. And not only is the pace of job loss slowing, but a hiring survey shows that more than twice as many local businesses -- 18 percent to 8 percent -- anticipate hiring workers in the October-December quarter that includes the Christmas holiday season as say they will reduce employment.

The state did nearly as well on the unemployment front as Columbus, with a decrease of almost 26 percent in first-time filings for jobless benefits.

The news, of course is not all good; it can't be when people are still struggling. And even if a recovery is on the horizon, there are still hard times ahead. Among the highest rates of unemployment claims reported by the state Department of Labor were workers who had lost manufacturing and retail jobs; obviously the region's recovery from decades-long dependence on textile and service economies is still not over, even without the effects of the recession.

But Columbus has some distinct advantages, not least among them the huge advantage of having Uncle Sam as a close neighbor. There were only four Georgia cities with a drop in first-time unemployment claims over the past year: Hinesville, Macon and Warner Robins, like Columbus, all are close to military installations. Manpower, the staffing agency that conducted the hiring survey, also reports that Columbus is high on the list of "strongest" areas for the next quarter in hiring.

When the economy began to deteriorate seriously, informed observers advised that the best course would be to ride it out without panic or despair. Even with some pretty big bumps ahead, it looks like the end of that long ride might be in sight at last.

-- Dusty Nix, for the editorial board

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