Many economists took the report as verification that the nation is in a recession.

The nation's unemployment rate remained at 6.8 percent last month, but economists took little comfort from any part of the report.

But economists inside and outside the Government took a less alarmist view.

Did the economists take into consideration the amount of taxes deducted from workers' pay?

Some economists have taken to saying that the saving rate is not as important as they used to think.

But the mood later shifted, as economists took a closer look at the numbers.

But not all economists took such a dire view.

The first is a position a respectable economist might take.

Liberal economists took the position that any increase in poverty was too high, given the relative prosperity of the country.

But economists took the lower savings rate as a positive sign.