Economy
Main article: Economy of the United States
| Economic indicators | ||
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment | 7.8% (September 2012) | [129] |
| GDP growth | 1.3% (2Q 2012), 1.7% (2011) | [130] |
| CPI inflation | 1.7% (May 2011 – May 2012) | [131] |
| Poverty | 15.1% (2010) | [132] |
| Public debt | $15.78 trillion (June 25, 2012) | [133] |
| External debt | $15.41 trillion (September 28, 2012) | [134] |
| Household net worth | $58.5 trillion (4Q 2011) | [135] |
The United States has a capitalist mixed economy, which is fueled by abundantnatural resources, a well-developed infrastructure, and high productivity.[136]According to the International Monetary Fund, the U.S. GDP of $15.1 trillion constitutes 22% of the gross world product at market exchange rates and over 19% of the gross world product at purchasing power parity (PPP).[3] Though larger than any other nation's, its national GDP was about 5% smaller at PPP in 2011 than the European Union's, whose population is around 62% higher.[137]The country ranks ninth in the world in nominal GDP per capita and sixth inGDP per capita at PPP.[3] The U.S. dollar is the world's primary reserve currency.[138]
The United States is the largest importer of goods and second largest exporter, though exports per capita are relatively low. In 2010, the total U.S. trade deficitwas $635 billion.[139] Canada, China, Mexico, Japan, and Germany are its top trading partners.[140] In 2010, oil was the largest import commodity, while transportation equipment was the country's largest export.[139] China is the largest foreign holder of U.S. public debt.[141]
In 2009, the private sector was estimated to constitute 86.4% of the economy, with federal government activity accounting for 4.3% and state and local government activity (including federal transfers) the remaining 9.3%.[143] While its economy has reached a postindustriallevel of development and its service sector constitutes 67.8% of GDP, the United States remains an industrial power.[144] The leading business field by gross business receipts is wholesale and retail trade; by net income it is manufacturing.[145]
Chemical products are the leading manufacturing field.[146] The United States is the third largest producer of oil in the world, as well as its largest importer.[147] It is the world's number one producer of electrical and nuclear energy, as well as liquid natural gas, sulfur, phosphates, and salt. While agriculture accounts for just under 1% of GDP,[144] the United States is the world's top producer of corn[148] and soybeans.[149] Coca-Cola andMcDonald's are the two most recognized brands in the world.[150]
In August 2010, the American labor force consisted of 154.1 million people. With 21.2 million people, government is the leading field of employment. The largest private employment sector is health care and social assistance, with 16.4 million people. About 12% of workers are unionized, compared to 30% in Western Europe.[151] The World Bank ranks the United States first in the ease of hiring and firing workers.[152]
The 2008-2012 global recession affected the United States quite badly. For example, persistent high unemployment remains, along with low consumer confidence, the continuing decline in home values and increase in foreclosures and personal bankruptcies, an escalatingfederal debt crisis, inflation, and rising petroleum and food prices. In fact, a 2011 poll found that more than half of all Americans think the U.S. is still in recession or even depression, despite official data that shows a historically modest recovery.[153] In 2009, the United States had the third highest labor productivity per person in the world, behind Luxembourg and Norway. It was fourth in productivity per hour, behind those two countries and the Netherlands.[154] Compared to Europe, U.S. property and corporate income tax rates are generally higher, while labor and, particularly, consumption tax rates are lower.[155]
In 2013, the United States ranks equal 16th in the best-country-to-be-born-in list.[156]
Income and human development
Main article: Income in the United States
See also: Income inequality in the United States, Poverty in the United States, and Affluence in the United States
According to the United States Census Bureau, the pretax median household income in 2010 was $49,445. The median ranged from $64,308 among Asian American households to $32,068 among African American households.[132] Using purchasing power parity exchange rates, the overall median is similar to the most affluent cluster of developed nations. As of 2007, Americans had the second highest median equivalised disposable household income among OECD nations, behind only Luxembourg, and the highest average disposable income and employee earnings.[157][158] After declining sharply during the middle of the 20th century, poverty rates have plateaued since the early 1970s, with 11–15% of Americans below the poverty line every year, and 58.5% spending at least one year in poverty between the ages of 25 and 75.[159][160] In 2010, 46.2 million Americans lived in poverty, a figure that rose for the fourth year in a row.[132]
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The U.S. welfare state is one of the least extensive in the developed world, reducing both relative poverty and absolute poverty by considerably less than the mean for rich nations,[161][162] though combined private and public social expenditures per capita are relatively high.[163] While the American welfare state effectively reduces poverty among the elderly,[164] it provides relatively little assistance to the young.[165] A 2007 UNICEFstudy of children's well-being in twenty-one industrialized nations ranked the United States next to last.[166]
Between 1947 and 1979, real median income rose by over 80% for all classes, with the incomes of poor Americans rising faster than those of the rich.[167] However, income gains since then have been slower, less widely shared, and accompanied by increased economic insecurity.[167][168] Median household income has increased for all classes since 1980,[169] largely owing to more dual-earner households, the closing of the gender pay gap, and longer work hours, but the growth has been strongly tilted toward the very top.[161][167][170]
Consequently, the share of income of the top 1%—21.8% of total reported income in 2005—has more than doubled since 1980,[171]leaving the United States with the greatest income inequality among developed nations.[161][172] The United States has a progressive tax system which equates to higher income earners paying a larger percentage of their income in taxes.[173] The top 1% pays 27.6% of all federal taxes, while the top 10% pays 54.7%.[174]
Wealth, like income and taxes, is highly concentrated: The richest 10% of the adult population possesses 69.8% of the country's household wealth, the second-highest share among developed nations.[175] The top 1% possesses 33.4% of net wealth.[176] In 2011 theUnited Nations Development Programme ranked the United States 23rd among 139 countries on its inequality-adjusted human development index (IHDI), nineteen places lower than in the standard HDI.[177]
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