>>> It is the eve of a much anticipated report. the experts hoping it confirms the signs we're starting to see throughout the economy, that we may finally be in an economy out to last. consumers are out spending and employers are hiring. the number of people in unemployment lines is the longest in three years but there's long way to go to truly come back from the great recession. we begin with sue herrera.
>> call it the warm weather effect. retailers today reported stronger than expected sales. the reason, they say, the sun is out and people are buying.
>> it's perfect. it's perfect for shopping.
>> at target and macy's, sales were up more than 7%. nort strm and gap, 8%. this week, gm, ford, and toyota credited warm weather in part for strong sales. consumer spending jumps in february by the most in seven months.
>> there's no question there's been two effects. the economy has gotten stronger at the same time unseizably warm weather gave us a leg up. how much can be sustained going forward.
>> economists worry about a summer slow down when higher gas and food prices will take a bite out of paychecks that aren't growing. even as home sales are picking up, experts are racing for a wave of foreclosures. but businesses are liaring. employers have added an average of 345,000 jobs a month since december. quinn dowtin was hired last month after looking for a full-time job for the last three years.
>> have to tempwas horrible because i didn't feel stable.
>> one third of employers have added full-time employees this year, the highest since the recession began. they expect to hire ten employeemployee s at his small brooklyn employee.
>> people want to buy the loaf of bread, they want to try something new. they're happy to indulge in something new, which i would say a year ago, two years ago, if might not have been that way.
>> the good news is that firing has abated and employment is beginning to pick up. the bad news is it's not happening fast enough to rise all tides and have all boats lift with the tides coming in.
>> now, savannah, experts are looking to see about 200,000 new jobs in the report tomorrow, but one thing they say to look for, if the unemployment rate ticks up, it's held steady at about 8.3%, that may be a sign that people are opmystic for their prospects and we'll see a bump up in the figure.
>> the one issue everybody thinks about and feels, gas prices. is there a tipping point where high gas prices could empaeril our fragile economy?
>> a lot of meme think it's $5 a gallon. we have seen in it california and some cases, but we haven't seen it on a nationwide basis. $5 takes away the discretionary inkk you might spend at the bakery.
>> thank you so much.
