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 provided here confirm a central point of Kevin Bahr’s report that, despite the pessimistic prognostications of the economic forecasting community, the economy’s performance in 2023 continues to defy expectations. Growth has been robust while inflationary pressures have declined. The tightness of the labor market looks to be easing and the Federal Reserve, in the end, may be able to achieve its goal of a soft landing. The housing market, however, remains problematic as affordability has continued to decline.
National Economic Statistics Table 1 Key Economic Indicators (Third Quarter) 2023 Third Quarter
% ∆ Yr. Ago
Nominal Gross Domestic Product (in Billions) Real Gross Domestic Product (in Billions)
$27,623.50 $22,491.60
6.3 2.9 0.1
Industrial Production (2017 = 100)
103.6
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 year over year increase in Real GDP of 2.9% from 2022 Q3 to 2023 Q3 shows significant economic growth despite the higher interest rates resulting from Fed policy. Note: This differs from the 4.9% increase which measures the quarterly percentage change from 2023 Q2 to 2023 Q3 at an annualized rate. • The industrial production index is one of the oldest, continuous economic indicators, originating in January 1919! As an indicator of manufacturing performance, it measures the output of firms within the United States but not within its territories. The index has been remarkably stable since the beginning of 2022.
Central Wisconsin Report - Spring 2023
13
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog