Recessions are spectacular and obvious; recoveries tend to creep up on you. A strong payrolls report last week – the US added 243,000 jobs in January – has led to hopes that a rapid, booming upswing is about to start. That is unlikely, sadly, but there is growing evidence of the next best thing: the US economy is starting to heal.

The past three years have told a grim tale of stuttering expansion, marked by falling house prices, high unemployment, and repeated bouts of recession anxiety. The economy has struggled to throw off the legacy of a debt-fuelled housing boom and the subsequent financial crisis in 2007-08.

A number of drags on the economy remain, including a large pipeline of homes in foreclosure and the government’s need to close its deficit, and they limit the chances of rapid growth. But in several parts of the economy hit by the financial crisis – the credit, housing and labour markets – there are signs of a return to health.