Although the unemployment rate in the U.S is still at 9.6%, the American businesses just had the best recorded profit in the last 60 years. According to the report released by Commerce Department, the corporate profit totaled up to $1.66 trillion in the last (third) quarter. The profit numbers have not been adjusted for inflation as the government does not have pricing index for each individual companies. The article mentions that productivity growth could be accredited for the increase in corporate profits, as companies are making more with less factor (labor) of production. Also, companies with its factories and offices located in rapidly emerging economies such as India and China are doing really well too.
Despite the fact that corporate profits make up around 11 percent of the total U.S GDP and that it has been growing, many economists fear that the U.S economy is not growing fast enough to battle its high unemployment rate. On the good part, the U.S consumer spending has been rising with a positive effect on the economy, and hopefully will get better with the Thanksgiving and Christmas sales.
Hopefully, much of these profits will be used towards further investment in these corporations' infrastructures. Maybe, that can help to lower the unemployment rate, while helping to prepare the US economy for a new generation of products and services.
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