Boom goes the economy
The sun is shining. Yet look around and you’ll see lots of worry about the economy. A selection of headlines: “A storm is brewing.” “Is a recession on the horizon?” “What will cause the next recession?” “12 charts to watch for signs of the next U.S. downturn.” Yikes, time to stock up on canned goods. On second thought, no. While pessimism comes naturally to economists, and journalists, we’re inspired to revel in the positives and root to keep this momentum going. The economy is growing at a solid 4.1 percent. Paychecks are up 2.7 percent over the past year, and should continue to rise after a long period of mediocre wage growth. Best of all, people are finding work. The unemployment rate is 3.9 percent. It’s at a record low for Hispanics and near a record for African-Americans.
Jobs mean everything to the nation’s sense of well-being. Opportunity offers fulfillment; paychecks create prosperity. Do you feel better about your prospects? You should. The economy is booming.
There are more job openings than job seekers across the U.S. There are about 6.6 million available jobs and not quite that number of people looking. The phenomenon, seen for the first time since such record-keeping began in 2000, speaks to surging private-sector growth. Want a job? You probably can find one, and maybe convince your prospective boss to relax the company ban on tattoos and piercings.
Assuming the good times continue until next July, this will become the longest period of expansion in U.S. history, surpassing the 1990s, which included the tech boom. So compared to previous eras, the nation should be very late in its positive economic cycle. Hence, the fretful headlines.
But why can’t the growth continue, and accelerate? During much of the 2009-to-present expansion, with President Barack Obama in office, growth trundled along at about 2 percent. President Donald Trump took office saying he wanted to goose the sustained growth rate to 3 percent. He and the Republican-led Congress cut taxes to put money in the pockets of consumers and give businesses an incentive to invest and hire. Both are happening. The Trump administration also is focused on reducing regulatory red tape as an additional inducement to companies to bet on their future.
Their confidence leads to more investment, which adds jobs and spurs gross domestic product growth. On and on may it go. Trump is betting he can squeeze out an even better performance through more advantageous trade deals. But that’s risky. Trade disputes with China and other countries could impede growth. We’d rather see Trump negotiate new deals than fight. More exports mean more jobs; more imports mean more choices for consumers.
America is better off when more people are working. Right now, that’s happening.