Posts Tagged ‘economic recovery’

Consumer Spending Slows Further During Spring Quarter

Monday, August 9th, 2010

The United States is on a slow road to economic recovery that gets longer and longer as consumers spend less.

  • Sluggish consumer spending and stagnant personal incomes reflect a slow economy this spring.
  • Experts believe that economic growth will lose further momentum in the second half of the year as high unemployment, insecure consumers and renewed troubles in housing continue to plague recovery.
  • The rate of economic growth in the United States is about half the pace of what it normally is for a country coming out of a recession.

Facts & Figures

  • Consumer spending accounts for 70% of total economic activity.
  • The GDP slowed to an annual growth rate of 2.4% in the April-June quarter.

Businesses Hesitate To Hire, Stall Economic Recovery

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

Concerns about the stalled U.S. economic recovery continue to grow.

  • Last week, state unemployment aid claims increased unexpectedly, which may indicate that the economic recovery is stalling.
  • Although the number of layoffs has decreased in the past year, businesses are hesitant to hire.
  • New jobless claims rose to the highest level since the beginning of March.
  • Obama’s approval ratings have plummeted due to concerns about the economic recovery.

Facts and Figures

  • Claims for state unemployment benefits rose 13,000 last month.
  • Employers announced 39,358 job cuts in June, up 1.4% from May.
  • Private employers added just 13,000 jobs in May.
  • Announced layoffs hit a 4-year low in April.

Best Quote

“It’s looking more and more like the job market is treading water. Layoffs are down from 2009, but hiring hasn’t really picked up and this is disappointing. There is a lot of uncertainty on the hiring side that’s causing things to remain sluggish. In order for the recovery to give people confidence it needs to cut across different sectors of the economy.” – Stephen Bronars, Senior Economist at Welch Consulting