So we are still growing in a "gross" sense. What else do we know?
From the Los Angles Times:
WASHINGTON -- Growth in the crucial manufacturing sector unexpectedly slowed in March as companies reported fewer new orders and less production compared with the previous month.
The Institute for Supply Management's widely watched purchasing managers index dropped to 51.3 last month compared with 54.2 in February. The reading came in below analyst expectations of about 54. A reading above 50 indicates growth in the sector, which covers a wide variety of industries.
So...it is still growing but slowing. What about employment? Income? The real economy versus the financial or nominal economy? Lets take 10 weeks and delve into all these questions.
What do you think? What do you want to know?
The economy is growing, but at a sluggish rate. In the final quarter of 2013, the US economy expanded at an annual rate of 0.4%, which was slightly better than the previous estimate of 0.1%. Steady hiring as kept consumer spending this year. And a rebound in company stockpiling, further gains in housing and more business spending also likely drove faster growth in the first quarter. For all of 2012, the economy grew 2.2%(GDP) after a 1.8% increase in 2011 and a 2.4% advance in 2010 and employees added an average of 200,000 jobs a month since November, helping to lower employment to 7.7% (4 year low).
ReplyDeleteWhat I find interesting is growth appears to be strengthening this year even after taxes increased on January 1, as well as automatic government spending cuts on March 1, totaling $85 billion. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the combination of tax increases and spending cuts could trim economic growth this year by about 1.5 percentage points. How much will increased taxes and government spending cuts affect the total growth of the economy for 2013? Somehow the economy is still showing signs of growth in the early stages of 2013. Will this continue throughout the rest of year, slow down or take step backs?
I think overall GDP growth is an overrated statistic to determine the health of an economy. I would like to look more into income disparity and other statistics. GDP growth could simply be the rich becoming richer while everyone else struggles.
ReplyDeleteI think you bring up a good point Alex, and I agree there are factors outside of GDP that need to be considered when judging the health of an economy. #cosign
Delete