A Comparative Analysis of the Current Economic Situation of the United States and the Situation Five Years Ago

Beginning with unemployment in the 2007-2009 recession, U.S. unemployment rates peaked at 10% as well as held 41 consecutive months at rates higher than eight percent (Lazear 1). The U.S. economy plummeted during this time; many attributed the shift to a large decrease in the number of employed workers. To be able to better understand the unemployment issue, we must first examine the form of unemployment faced by the U.S. economy. Many believe that the changes faced by the U.S. labor market

Conclude your paper by summarizing how the state of the economy influences an individual’s personal financial choices.

Although business leaders may not have a crystal ball to help them plan for the future, they do have access to a wide range of Federal Reserve publications that can help identify recent and current trends and what these economists believe will take place in the coming months. Given the lingering effects of the Great Recession of 2008 on the American economy today, identifying the future economic outlook for America using this type of freely available information therefore represents a timely and valuable enterprise. To this end, this paper provides a review of relevant publications to identify the Federal Reserve's current assessment of economic activity and financial markets, its current view about inflation and various monetary tools that have been used to stabilize the economic and prices in recent years. Finally, an analysis of the economic outlook for the next 12- to 18-month period is followed by a summary of the research and important findings in the conclusion.

The United States, one of the most powerful nations in the world, was founded less than two hundred and fifty years ago. Since 1776, the year when the thirteen original colonies ratified the Constitution, three cornerstone ideas have been the drivers of the country’s progress-- Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness. Found in the Declaration of Independence, which was written by Thomas Jefferson, these three concepts have been crucial in the lives of all Americans throughout the existence of this nation. Liberty, which includes personal and economic freedom, was the main reason why the colonies decided to break away from the United Kingdom in the eighteenth century. The U.S. went through many economic booms, various recessions, and several major economic depressions throughout its history. Yet, here it is, mostly unscathed and in full glory, still dominating the world stage in economic and foreign affairs. However, in the past two-three decades, the economic conditions have changed adversely, especially for the younger generations. It is an undeniable fact that the consumer and labor markets have undergone tremendous adjustments, partly due to people’s changing lifestyles, as well as globalization. According to Janet Yellen , the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairwoman’s, statement to Congress, the “[country’s] financial conditions have worsened” and the United States economy has become “less supportive of growth” in recent years (Web). The combination of these various factors and

The United States is the leading economy across the globe and experienced several tribulations in the recent past following the 2008 global recession. Despite these recent challenges, there are expectations among policymakers and financial experts that the country will experience solid economic growth. Actually, financial analysts have stated that the U.S. economy will be characterized by increased consumer spending, increased investments by businesses, reduced rate of unemployment, and reduction in government cut. Some analysts have also stated that the country’s economy will strengthen in 2014 with an average of 2.7 percent or more. However, these predictions can only be understood through an analysis of the current macroeconomic

1). In 2016, the inflation rate was at 2.07 percent, and as of February 2017 the rate is about .90 percent (“Inflation Rate,” n.d.). As we can see, the economy has bounced back from its position during the recession. GDP has increased drastically since 2009, unemployment has decreased past its position from 2007, the interest rate has risen, and inflation has also gone up which indicates a strong and healthy economy. Although a higher interest rate is unfavorable for consumers and businesses, it means that the government is confident that the economy will continue to improve. This also means that consumers have enough disposable income to spend on whatever they wish, so the government does not need to lower the rate in order to encourage borrowing and spending. These metrics indicate that the economy has recovered from the Great Recession, and is continuing to improve.

From December 2007 to June 2009 the United States economy was confronted with its greatest challenge since the Great Depression. The financial crisis was so great that it was coined the term the Great Recession. Many factors contributed to the collapse of the U.S economy; such as, the financial crisis (2007–08), U.S. subprime mortgage crisis (2007–09), a shrinking Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate and unpresented unemployment rates. A recent (2016) article in the Wall Street Journal entitled “Post-Recession Rethink: Growth Potential Dimmed Before Downturn” examines the economic aftermath of the Great Recession.

The economy changing has many differing factors to determine how society is run. An economy change will greatly impact the people it'll also impact the way they live. But you need change to grow and get better. Economic change also impacts culture and politics, society and technology. Economic changes everything and everyone for better or for worse.

In this paper, you will read about the current standing of the U.S. economy as of spring and summer for 2015. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), unemployment rate, inflation rate, foreign trade, consumer spending, business investment, and government spending will all be analyzed. This analysis will then lead to the projection of the U.S. economy for the first two quarters of 2016.

For many years the United States have been growing and becoming one of the best countries in the world politically, industrially, and economically. The economy situation is one of the most significant areas, in which Americans have been improving. According to Lim and Smalzer, (2008), before the World War II, The economic in the US was stabled Until the US army had won in the World War II (Piketty & Saez, 2003). The economic status had been very strong in the US; as result, the middle class was growing in both birth rates and marriage rates (Lim & Smalzer, 2008). Subsequently, the economy inequalities changed based on those growing. In that time, the economic was not so noticeable because number of population was changing and the US was improving

Overall the U.S economy faced challenges due to budget cuts, taxes, and spending cuts. Policy changes marked sluggish growth followed by a strong finish in 2014 therefore 2015 should have a stronger economic outcome.

On December 1, 2008, the National Bureau of Economic Research announced that the economy had entered into a recession in December year 2007. The real GDP increased by only 0.4 percent for the year 2008, and it is decreased at the annual rates of 5.4 percent in the 4th quarter of year 2008 and 6.4 percent in the 1st quarter of year 2009. The unemployment rate was increased from 4.9 percent in December of 2007 to 9.5 percent in June of 2009. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) reached a peak of 14,279.96 on October 11, 2007, and then fell to 6,440.08 on March 9, 2009, a drop of almost 55 percent from the peak.

The United States is currently experiencing a slow recovery from the recession of 2008-09. The current unemployment rate is 7.7%, which is the lowest level since December of 2008 (BLS, 2012). However, this rate is believed to higher than the rate that would occur if the economy was operating at peak efficiency, and it is also believed that there are structural issues still underpinning this performance. For example, the number of Americans who have exited the work force as the result of prolonged unemployment is believed to be higher than usual. In addition, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO, 2012) notes that long-term unemployment of greater than 26 weeks is at a much higher rate than normal, which will have adverse long-run effects on the economy, since workers with long-term unemployment often find their career paths derailed.

The unemployment rate in the United States has improved dramatically over the last two years, from a high of 8.3% in July 2012, to a low of 6.6% in January 2014. In October of 2012, the civilian labor force increased from 578,000 to 155.6 million, labor force participation increased up to 63.8%, and total employment overall rose by 410,000! Since then, the unemployment rate has been falling at a stable rate due to a political push from Washington DC and new employment initiatives. The inflation rate over the last 2 years has been relatively stably, with a few major increases and decreases in 2012 and 2013. It reached a high of 2.3% in June of 2012, and reached a low of 1.0% at the end of 2013. The federal interest rate has remained at a constant .25% over the past few years.

George Bernard Shaw, a nobel Prize for Literature in 1925 once said, “If all the economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion” (Mankiw, 1998: 34). Yet, an economic comparison between the United Kingdom and the United States could still be made to distinguish the country with the better economic growth performance. Important indicators when comparing economies is economic growth rate, which is a measure of the yearly rate of development rate of GDP using the market prices (Ros, 2013: 26). Another indicator is the GDP, which is defined as the total amount of goods and services produced in a country per year (Mankiw, 2009: 521). Also, the inflation rate is used, which is a continuos increase in the prices for goods and services in the consumer price index and it is measured yearly (Herr & Kazandziska, 2011: 74). Lastly, the unemployment rate shows the percentage of people whiling and could work but do not have a job (Macdonald, 1999: 238). This report will compare the economic growth performance of the United States and the United Kingdom since 1990 using four indicators: economic growth rate, GDP, inflation, and unemployment rate.