Black, Hispanic, Women indicators achieving historical status
Business and manufacturing indexes continue to soar
Happy Birthday President Trump!
President Donald J. Trump’s economic achievements are considered remarkable, especially when compared to the predictions and claims of his naysayers and political adversaries. Jobless claims across the U.S. are now at the lowest level since 1973, the Labor Department reports.
Below are some of the most notable economic accomplishments to date:
Black and Hispanic unemployment rates hit record lows. In April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported unemployment rates for black workers had dropped to 6.6 percent, and that was after following his previous record low of 6.8 percent set in December 2017. In the 45 years the data has been tracked, the unemployment rate for black or African-American workers aged 16 years and older had never fallen below 7 percent. The jobless rate for Hispanics fell to 4.8 percent, tying the record reached last year and in 2006. Unemployment for white Americans is down to 3.6 percent.
Business investments are up 39 percent due to tax cuts. Trump’s hard work and strategy regarding tax cuts is paying off. Bloomberg Markets recently reported that S&P 500 companies that reported results for the first quarter of 2018, capital spending increased by 39 percent—the fastest growth in seven years.
The best month in history for the U.S. budget took place. The federal government enjoyed its biggest-ever monthly budget surplus, the Congressional Budget Office announced. The surging economy has left Americans with more money in their paychecks allowing the government to collect $515 billion and spend $297 billion in April. The previous monthly record surplus was $190 billion in 2001. In April, the total monthly surplus was $218 billion.
Food Stamp usage dropped to over half million people in just one month. Despite the needed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) enrollments because of hurricane-effected states, the net decreases continue to be more than offsetting the totals. In fact SNAP enrollment dropped to more than 4 million last November. In December 587,792 people discontinued their participation.
WIC (Women, Infants and Children), the government grant-funded welfare program, has dropped to its lowest levels since 2000.
Consumer Confidence continues to soar. According to Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Confidence Board, the index has “increased to its highest level in almost 17 years.” The surge is the result of U.S. share prices hitting record highs. Stocks have been lifted by strong economic growth, a surge in corporate earnings and increasing expectations of tax reform.
The United States is enjoying the highest ever manufacturer optimism in history. The National Association of Manufacturers recorded the highest level of optimism for small businesses, at 94.5%, for their future. From the White House Rose Garden, Trump said his Tax Cuts and Jobs Act means that “Married couples won’t pay a dime of income tax on their first $24,000 of income”
“A typical family of four earning $75,000 a year will see their tax bill slashed in half,” he said. “Nobody thought they’d ever see that — have a lot more money to spend.”
In Pennsylvania, The Philadelphia Fed reported recently that their manufacturing index reached a 33-year high.
Trump focuses on technology employment growth for women. Although women account for about 47 percent of the workforce in the US, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics , they make up only 25.6 percent of computer and mathematical occupations, and 15.4 percent of architecture and engineering occupations. President Trump signed two significant laws, the Next Space Pioneers, Innovators, Researchers, and Explorers Women Act, and the Promoting Women in Entrepreneurship Act. These acts will promote and encourage females to get into science, technology, engineering and math fields.