How can an economy this good feel this bad?
The US is in the middle of an economic boom, but it is more vulnerable to shocks than it was a few quarters ago
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ON PAPER, these are good times for the US economy. The latest gross domestic product numbers show growth was at 3.3 per cent in the second quarter. Business investment is up. The unemployment rate remains low, and the inflation rate is reasonable.
Still, underneath it all lies a nagging question: If the economy is so good, why does it feel so bad?
First, the numbers. Nominal GDP has grown more than 50 per cent since the bottom of the last recession in 2020 – an annualised quarterly growth rate that is more than 7 per cent. Real median wages are up 5 per cent since 2022, after failing to keep up with inflation in previous years. Unemployment has remained at about 4.5 per cent since 2021 – and for much of that time, there was a worker shortage and a labour market that was very dynamic.
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