Posts Tagged ‘GDP’

Mystery solved! Arkansas has approximately the same GDP* as Kazakhstan.

Friday, January 21st, 2011

state-country-gdp-graphic.png

But seriously. We all know that the U.S. has the world’s biggest economy, but have you ever considered how it really compares to other countries? Even after the recession exploded America’s financial system, you can still fit at least 50 smaller economies within its borders.

How do you think your state stacks up? Click to play with the map and find out.

*In case you forgot, the Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, is the measure of all goods and services produced in a country in a given year. It’s an easy way to get a sense of that country’s economic activity.

More Concerns About The Economy

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

The U.S. is still slowly recovering from the worst recession since the 1930s.

  • The economy has now grown (slowly) for four straight quarters.
  • The slow economy growth has made little impact on the unemployment rate.
  • New home construction, imports, and business investments all increased in the second quarter.
  • Consumer spending, which normally accounts for 70% of U.S. economic activity, didn’t rise as much as expected.

Facts and Figures

  • The current unemployment rate is 9.5%.
  • While imports increased by 28.8%, exports increased by 10.3%, creating a trade deficit.
  • Business investment increased by 17%, which was the largest increase since the beginning of 2006.
  • New home construction increased 27.9%.

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.

Could The Recession Recovery Be A Fakeout?

Monday, June 14th, 2010

With all of today’s turmoil (the Gulf oil spill, Europe’s debt problem, consistently high unemployment rates) it’s no wonder economists have pondered whether or not we’re heading for Recession Part II.

  • It seems that the possibility of a “double dip” recession, in which a recession is followed by a short recovery that slips into another recession, seems to have decreased slightly since last year.
  • Several factors have influenced this positive change, namely that major U.S. companies have reported profit growth in the first quarter of 2010 and a $1 trillion bailout package has been approved been European leaders.
  • But unemployment is still high, and that GDP growth is already slowing.

Facts & Figures

  • Some believe the chance of a double dip recession is 20% now compared to 50% last year. Others says 25% now versus 30% last year.
  • Unemployment is still up at 9. 7%.
  • GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2009 was 5.6%, the highest in 6 years.
  • Economists predict the growth rate will slow to 3% this year.

Best Quote

“One of the things to remember is conditions do not have to be perfect for the economy to grow, but there’s a limit to how much bad news this economy can take.”  - Mark Vitner, Senior Economist, Wells Fargo Securities

New GDP Figures Turn Decline Upside-Down

Friday, October 30th, 2009

Could the Great Recession be over because the GDP did not shrink for one quarter?

  • The gross domestic product of the United States grew at a rate of +3.5% in the third quarter of 2009, which is the same amount as the average growth rate of the last 80 years.
  • Although jobs are still sparse and the housing market is still in bad shape, government programs helped encourage consumer spending on all sorts of goods.
  • There is still a risk of slowed growth or a dip in GDP because the third quarter’s growth can be attributed in part to strong stimulus packages, which will expire in coming months.

Facts & Figures

  • The stimulus packages that encouraged growth in GDP include the $787 billion package approved in the winter of 2008-2009 and the Cash for Clunkers program.
  • Jobless rate reached 9.8% in September 2009, despite GDP growth.
  • American exports (goods being sold outside the country) grew at an annual rate of 14.7% and imports (goods coming in from abroad) grew at a 16.4% annual rate.

Best Quote

“The big-picture perspective is that things have improved. The question is, how sustainable is this growth going forward?” – Jan Hatzius, Chief U.S. Economist at Goldman Sachs

The GDP is…

Friday, July 17th, 2009

The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is the value of all goods and services (output) produced in a country in a given year. It’s often used as a measurement of that country’s economic activity.