An Analysis of Current Economic Situation in the US as Compared to 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

Identify economic factors that affect the real GDP, the unemployment rate, the inflation rate, and a key interest rate. How do you predict the economy will perform in the next two years given the current state of two of the economic factors you identified? How might your organization be affected by these changes?

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

increased interest rates. Lastly, is the inability to start new businesses, which would benefit the

1. Analyze the current economic situation in the U.S. as compared to five (5) years ago. Include interest rates, inflation, and unemployment in your analysis.

The study and application of macroeconomics influences the well-being of a nation by achieving high rates of material production and by keeping track of how much of something is being consumed. The United States is one of the wealthiest countries in the globe, making the government powerful. Government intervention in the Untied States is an important factor that keeps the economy running. Enough power to control the business cycle keeps money circulating the nation. The business cycle includes economic downturns, classified as recessions, expansions, business-cycle peaks and troughs. A good government is essential for the economy to run smoothly. There are three main macroeconomic variables in the nation that the government focuses on, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), unemployment rate, and inflation rate.

Primarily, you must understand that lowering the rate of interest will make it cheaper for people to borrow as well as make it cheaper to pay back existing loans. As a result, firms may use this money that they have saved to spend on upgrading the

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

Several years ago the economy in the United States took a real turn for the worst. It was one of the biggest economical down falls in history. Many people lost their homes toforeclosure when they became unable to make their mortgage payments. There are many reasons that people suddenly became unable to make their payments. As the unemployment rate increased from 5% in December of 2007 to 10.01% in October of 2009 (Bureau of Labor Statistics) many people lost their jobs. Another cause was that people had entered into bad loans with interest only or ballooning payment loans these types of loans were very common lending practice. Then when the housing market crashed people found themselves upside down in their loans, meaning that they now owed two or three times the value of their home. These are among some of the reasons people lost their homes. Now that the economy is starting to turn around and the federal government has kept the interest rates low.Is there any hope for all these people that have lost their homes to recover and own a home again?

What is the state of the US economy? Has a cloud fallen on the US and harder economic times coming? Is continued decline require a cautious posture? “It's hard to decipher the state of the economy from headlines.” Although the economy is not equal to pre-recession times which was more than six years ago, the “jobs lost to the Great Recession have been replaced. Unemployment is down. The stock market has generally prospered.” What role does consumer

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.

Low interest rates will also alter the behaviour of consumers, businesses and banks. One of which is excessive risk taking as credit is more accessible. Especially after the financial crisis when the economy is in recovery mode, individuals and institutions might take unnecessary gambles in order to recoup what they have lost. This will lead to a high credit bubble where people are unable to repay their loans. However, people might react differently. They might be more prudent with their money thus reducing the demand, which will lead to an economic decline. As human behaviour is not possible to quantify and predict accurately, this presents the government with a dilemma,

During periods of high interest rates, businesses earn more from these investments. When rates are low, businesses may be more likely to use their cash for new equipment and plant improvements. While this can be good for equipment sellers and construction firms, banks lose out. Banks make their money from providing loans. When they don't get business investments to boost their assets, they can't make as much money because they have less to loan out. The interest rates banks charge are their income after expenses. When banks don't see an opportunity to make a reasonably-high interest rate on their money, they become less likely to take risks on loans. Businesses therefore can't borrow money for start-up and expansion expenses. Business can slow down to a crawl because there's no way to fund innovation. In addition, short-term loans to cover cash-flow problems can be hard to come by. This could cause businesses to be unable to deliver goods and services to their customers because they don't have the cash to continue operating(Owoh,