ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Scott Wallace, Ph.D. Director and Editor, CBEI; Professor of Economics, Sentry School of Business and Economics Kyle Pulvermacher Senior Research Assistant, CBEI
The economic indicators given below paint a picture of a national and local economy that continues to chug along but one in which progress in reducing the inflation rate has slowed. Unemployment rates remain at historically low levels yet there are signs of a softening labor market. The housing market remains a challenge for homebuyers as higher rates have created a “lock-in” effect where existing homeowners are less willing to move because they don’t want to give up their low interest rate mortgages. National Economic Statistics Table 1 Key Economic Indicators (First Quarter 2024) 2024 First Quarter % ∆ Yr. Ago Nominal Gross Domestic Product (in Billions) $28,284.50 5.5 Real Gross Domestic Product (in Billions) $22,768.90 3.0 Industrial Production (2017 = 100) 102.7 0.0 Description: • Nominal Gross Domestic Product (in Billions): The dollar value of all final goods and services produced in a year, using current prices. • Real Gross Domestic Product (in Billions): The dollar value of all final goods and services produced in a year, using prices from a base year (2017) to adjust for inflation. • Industrial Production Index: Measures real output (as a percentage of actual output in 2017) produced in the United States in manufacturing, mining, and electric & gas utilities. Analysis: • The 3% year over year increase in Real Gross Domestic Product from 2023 Q1 to 2024 Q1 shows that the economy has continued to expand at an impressive clip despite the headwinds of higher interest rates. Note: This differs from the 1.6% increase which measures the quarterly percentage change from 2023 Q4 to 2024 Q1 at an annualized rate as shown in Table 4. • The Industrial Production Index is a good measure of performance for the manufacturing sector. It gauges the value of output produced as a percentage of output in 2017. It has been remarkably consistent over the last two years.
Central Wisconsin Report - Spring 2024
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