The Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index® showed the U.S. economy improved significantly in December 2009, with the index jumping at an annualized rate of 60.8 percent, following a decent November number that grew at an annualized rate of 8.6 percent. The last two months of 2009 made solid moves forward, but the fourth quarter of 2009 (October – December) grew more slowly at a 7.3 percent rate. The fourth quarter results include a disappointing October and suggest the economic recovery will not be strong enough to drive down the unemployment level much below 10 percent any time soon.