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In a recent CNN poll, 48% of respondents stated that they believe the economy remains in a downturn, and only 35% said that things in the country today are going well. The disparity between somber economic sentiment and a surprisingly strong headline unemployment rate and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) can be easily explained.The divergence between headline GDP and Gross Domestic Income (GDI) is staggering. While GDP suggests a strong economy, GDI reveals a stagnant economy. Both measures used to follow a similar pattern, but this changed drastically in 2023. While GDP rose 2.5% in 2023, GDI only bounced 0.5%, effectively signaling economic stagnation.According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, real GDI increased only 0.5% in 2023, compared with an increase of 2.1% in 2022. If we use the average of real GDP and real GDI, it increased only 1.5% in 2023, compared with an increase of 2.0% in 2022. Not a recession, but certainly a weak economy.The unemployment figures show weakness as well. Real wage growth in the past four years has been negligible, at 0.7% per year, four times weaker than the previous four years. Furthermore, the labor force participation rate remains below the pre-pandemic level at 62.5%, the same as the employment-population ratio at 60.1%. Poor real average hourly earnings combined with a decrease of 0.6% in the average workweek resulted in an uninspiring 0.5% increase in real average weekly earnings in the year to February 2024.Video Length:00:05:52More By This Author:Easing In The Middle Of Persistent Inflation May Worsen Stagflation Risk
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