[68] The U.S. has the world's largest consumer market. Overall, real GDP is a better method for expressing long-term national economic performance.

Many of these companies are based in the state of California, which alone concentrates 28% of U.S. Real compensation per hour in the U.S. (1947–2018). Real GDP accounts for changes in market value, and thus, narrows the difference between output figures from year to year. Data in this graph are copyrighted. In 2010, more than one quarter of R&D was concentrated in California (28.1%), ahead of Massachusetts (5.7%), New Jersey (5.6%), Washington State (5.5%), Michigan (5.4%), Texas (5.2%), Illinois (4.8%), New York (3.6%) and Pennsylvania (3.5%).

While the major performers of R&D largely maintained their commitments, the pain of the U.S. recession was felt mainly by small businesses and start-ups. This can not be undone. [90], The approach, advanced by British economist John Maynard Keynes, gave elected officials a leading role in directing the economy since spending and taxes are controlled by the U.S. President and the Congress. [264][265] A May 2018 report by the U.N. Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights found that over five million people in the United States live "in ‘Third World’ conditions.

In 1988, there were about 12,500 U.S. banks with less than $300 million in deposits, and about 900 with more deposits, but by 2012, there were only 4,200 banks with less than $300 million in deposits in the U.S., and over 1,800 with more. [231][232], In 1970, wages represented more than 51% of the U.S. GDP and profits were less than 5%. [282] One consumption choice causing several of the maladies described above are cigarettes. [44], The nation's economy is fueled by abundant natural resources, a well-developed infrastructure, and high productivity. [414], According to Paul Reynolds, entrepreneurship scholar and creator of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, "by the time they reach their retirement years, half of all working men in the United States probably have a period of self-employment of one or more years; one in four may have engaged in self-employment for six or more years.

Real GDP grew at a quarterly annualized rate of 2.2% in Q1 2018, 4.2% in Q2 2018, 3.4% in Q3 2018 and 2.2% in Q4 2018 under President Trump; the Q2 rate was the best growth rate since Q3 2014, and the overall yearly GDP growth of 2.9% in 2018 was the best performance of the economy in a decade.

[109] Real gross domestic product, a measure of both production and income, grew by 2.3% in 2017, vs. 1.5% in 2016 and 2.9% in 2015. [460], In May 2020, CNN gave an analysis based on unemployment data that the US economy was perhaps the worst that it had ever been since the 1930s. [304] The number of steel workers fell from 500,000 in 1980 to 224,000 in 2000. [48][49] According to one analysis middle-class incomes in the United States fell into a tie with those in Canada in 2010, and may have fallen behind by 2014, while several other advanced economies have closed the gap in recent years. As a broad measure of overall domestic production, it functions as a comprehensive scorecard of a given country’s economic health. [363] Such low rates, outpaced by the inflation rate, occur when the market believes that there are no alternatives with sufficiently low risk, or when popular institutional investments such as insurance companies, pensions, or bond, money market, and balanced mutual funds are required or choose to invest sufficiently large sums in Treasury securities to hedge against risk.

Governments spend money on equipment, infrastructure, and payroll. Medicaid pays less than Medicare for many prescription drugs due to the fact Medicaid discounts are set by law, whereas Medicare prices are negotiated by private insurers and drug companies. The U.S. dollar is the currency most used in international transactions. Stephen Haymes, Maria Vidal de Haymes and Reuben Miller (eds), Carmen M. Reinhart and M. Belen Sbrancia (March 2011), Regulation and Control in the U.S. Economy: About.com, Shane, Scott "A General Theory of Entrepreneurship: the Individual-Opportunity Nexus", Edward Elgar. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. Means of addressing the aging trend include immigration (which theoretically brings in younger workers) and higher fertility rates, which can be encouraged by incentives to have more children (e.g., tax breaks, subsidies, and more generous paid leave). This coronavirus recession has been widely described as the most severe global economic downturn since the Great Depression, and "far worse" than the Great Recession. [168] Recasting the 2012 income using the 1979 income distribution (representing the more egalitarian 1950–1980 period), the bottom 99% of families would have averaged about $7,100 more income. Consumer confidence, therefore, has a very significant bearing on economic growth. Washington State has a high concentration of high-tech firms like Microsoft, Amazon and Boeing and the engineering functions of most automobile manufacturers are located in the state of Michigan. Part of the reason for this is that population size and cost of living are not consistent around the world. Investors watch GDP since it provides a framework for decision-making. Maryland's position may reflect the concentration of federally funded research institutions there. The 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement provided states with long-term payments to cover medical costs to treat smoking-related illnesses. Products include wheat, corn, other grains, fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products, forest products, and fish. [130][131][132] The World Bank ranks the United States first in the ease of hiring and firing workers. An aging country and healthcare inflation are other drivers of deficits and debt over the long-run.

Rebecca Ray, Milla Sanes, and John Schmitt (May 2013). [123] The second-largest share of employment belongs to large businesses employing 36% of the U.S. This is enhanced by relatively low levels of regulation and government involvement,[403] as well as a court system that generally protects property rights and enforces contracts. Regionally, the South and West had higher uninsured rates than the North and East. DataBank. 4, April 11, 2002 to April 24, 2002, "America's Dirty War Against Manufacturing: Part 1", "Hasn't Anyone at the NYT Heard of Exchange Rates? This approach can be calculated using the following formula: GDP = C + G + I + NX (where C=consumption; G=government spending; I=Investment; and NX=net exports). The civil airline industry is entirely privately owned and has been largely deregulated since 1978, while most major airports are publicly owned. [148] In April 2010, the official unemployment rate was 9.9%, but the government's broader U-6 unemployment rate was 17.1%. [400], During FY2017, the federal government spent $3.98 trillion on a budget or cash basis, up $128 billion or 3.3% vs. FY2016 spending of $3.85 trillion.

[241], An August 2017 survey by CareerBuilder found that 8 out of 10 U.S. workers live paycheck to paycheck. [149] Between February 2008 and February 2010, the number of people working part-time for economic reasons (i.e., would prefer to work full-time) increased by 4 million to 8.8 million, an 83% increase in part-time workers during the two-year period. [341][342], Since 1976, the U.S. has sustained merchandise trade deficits with other nations, and since 1982, current account deficits. [113] The U.S. ranked 20th out of 220 countries in GDP per capita in 2017.