|
ECONOMY
|
|
|
Economy
- Overview:
|
|
The
US has the most powerful, diverse, and technologically advanced
economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $31,500, the largest
among major industrial nations. In this market-oriented economy,
private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions,
and government buys needed goods and services predominantly in
the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy considerably
greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe
and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, lay off surplus
workers, and develop new products. At the same time, they face
higher barriers to entry in their rivals' home markets than the
barriers to entry of foreign firms in US markets. US firms are
at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially
in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment,
although their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War
II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development
of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack
the education and the professional/technical skills of those at
the top and, more and more, fail to get pay raises, health insurance
coverage, and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the
gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households.
The years 1994-98 witnessed solid increases in real output, low
inflation rates, and a drop in unemployment to below 5%. Long-term
problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure,
rapidly rising medical costs of an aging population, sizable trade
deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic
groups. The outlook for 1999 is for GDP growth somewhat below
1998's, continued low inflation, and about the same level of unemployment.
Two shadows for 1999 are the severe financial crises in East Asia
and Russia and the exuberant level of stock prices in relation
to corporate earnings. |
|
GDP:
|
|
purchasing
power parity?$8.511 trillion (1998 est.) |
|
GDP
- Real Growth Rate:
|
|
3.9%
(1998 est.) |
|
GDP
- Per Capita:
|
|
purchasing
power parity?$31,500 (1998 est.) |
|
CGP
- Composition by Sector:
|
|
agriculture:
2%
industry: 23%
services: 75% (1998 est.) |
|
Population
Below Poverty Level:
|
|
13%
(1997 est.) |
|
Household
Income or Consumption by Percentage Share:
|
|
lowest
10%: 1.5%
highest 10%: 28.5% (1994) |
|
Inflation
Rate :
|
|
1.6%
(1998) |
|
Labor
Force :
|
|
137.7 million (includes unemployed) (1998) |
|
Labor
Force - by Occupation:
|
|
managerial
and professional 29.6%, technical, sales and administrative support
29.3%, services 13.6%, manufacturing, mining, transportation,
and crafts 24.8%, farming, forestry, and fishing 2.7% (1998) note:
figures exclude the unemployed |
|
Unemployment
Rate:
|
|
4.5% (1998) |
|
Budget:
|
|
revenues:
$1.722 trillion
expenditures: $1.653 trillion, including capital expenditures
of $NA (1998 |
|
Industries:
|
|
leading
industrial power in the world, highly diversified and technologically
advanced; petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications,
chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber,
mining |
|
Industrial
Production Growth Rate:
|
|
3.6%
(1998) |
|
Electricity
- Production:
|
|
3.629
trillion kWh (1996) |
|
Electricity
- Production by Source:
|
|
fossil
fuel: 65.1%
hydro: 9.6%
nuclear: 18.59%
other: 6.71% (1996) |
|
|
Electricity
- Consumption:
|
|
3.666
trillion kWh (1996) |
|
|
Electricity
- Exports:
|
|
9.02
billion kWh (1996) |
|
|
Electricity
- Imports:
|
|
46.543 billion kWh (1996) |
|
|
Agriculture
- Products:
|
|
wheat,
other grains, corn, fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef, pork, poultry,
dairy products; forest products; fish |
|
|
Exports:
|
|
$663
billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.) |
|
|
Exports
- Commodities:
|
|
capital
goods, automobiles, industrial supplies and raw materials, consumer
goods, agricultural products |
|
|
Exports
- Partners:
|
|
Canada
22%, Western Europe 21%, Japan 10%, Mexico 10% (1997) |
|
|
Imports:
|
|
$912
billion (c.i.f., 1998 est.) |
|
|
Imports
-Commodities:
|
|
crude oil and refined petroleum products, machinery, automobiles,
consumer goods, industrial raw materials, food and beverages |
|
|
Imports
- Partners:
|
|
Canada,
19%, Western Europe 18%, Japan 14%, Mexico 10%, China 7% (1997)
|
|
|
Debt
- External:
|
|
$862
billion (1995 est.) |
|
|
Economic
Aid - Recipient:
|
|
ODA,
$7.4 billion (1995) |
|
|
Currency:
|
|
1
United States dollar (US$) = 100 cents |
|
|
Exchange
Rates :
|
|
British pounds (£) per US$?0.6057 (January 1999), 0.6037 (1998),
0.6106 (1997), 0.6403 (1996), 0.6335 (1995), 0.6529 (1994); Canadian
dollars (Can$) per US$?1.5192 (January 1999), 1.4835 (1998), 1.3846
(1997), 1.3635 (1996), 1.3724 (1995), 1.3656 (1994); French francs
(F) per US$?5.65 (January 1999), 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997),
5.1155 (1996), 4.9915 (1995), 5.5520 (1994); Italian lire (Lit)
per US$?1,668.7 (January 1999), 1,763.2 (1998), 1,703.1 (1997),
1,542.9 (1996), 1,628.9 (1995), 1,612.4 (1994); Japanese yen (¥)
per US$?113.18 (January 1999), 130.91 (1998), 120.99 (1997), 108.78
(1996), 94.06 (1995), 102.21 (1994); German deutsche marks (DM)
per US$?1.69 (January 1999), 1.9692 (1998), 1.7341 (1997), 1.5048
(1996), 1.4331 (1995), 1.6228 (1994); Euro per US$?0.8597 (January
1999) |
|
|
Fiscal
Year :
|
|
1
October?30 September |
|
|
