The U.S. economy continues to make positive strides, but will any of it matter if the jobs aren’t coming back?
The latest positive boost to the economy, a 3.2% jump in the first quarter of 2010, was strongly prompted by consumer spending, according to the Department of Commerce.
Consumer spending accounts for nearly 70% of the U.S. economy, so the recent boom in GDP could be a sign consumers are in a position to spend again.
Still, skeptics argue the recent uptick could be a mirage, spurred on by temporary jobs, stimulus spending and other government programs that continue to plunge the country into debt.
The unemployment rate recently increased from 9.7% to 9.9%, despite the addition of nearly 300,000 jobs nationwide. That means companies are still cutting staff at a faster rate than new jobs are being created.
Until that trend begins to reverse itself, experts warn the economy (and consumer confidence) will continue to be on shaky ground.
What do you think? Is the economy definitely back on track again or are we simply sinking ourselves deeper into debt, long term?
Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Source: “Consumers Help Drive U.S. Economy to 3.2%Growth Rate,” by Catherine Rampell, New York Times, 4/30/10.
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Tags: economy, jobs, Recession, stimulus, unemployment
June 10th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
We are looking at a long slow recovery due in part to government overspending and poor monetary policies. The Feds are trying to micromanage business and it is completely counterproductive. That the Feds still believe in Keynesian economics is beyond ridiculous at this point. Despite evidence to the contrary Obama, Geithner and Bernanke still think you can pay down debt with more debt. Only in government would this stupid view continue unabated but it is undermining everything the country is doing to recover. The best thing Congress could do is start passing laws to allow business to practice business rather than be social reformers. They must also dissolve the entitlement programs-stop the health care morass before it can be further implemented, phase out every other entitlement program, pare down government agencies. Only by doing these things will it free up individuals to be productive again.