Economy of United States

The United States is the world's largest national economy in nominal terms and second largest according to purchasing power parity (PPP), representing 22% of nominal global GDP and 17% of gross world product (GWP). The United States' GDP was estimated to be $17.914 trillion as of Q2 2015. The U.S. dollar is the currency most used in international transactions and is the world's foremost reserve currency. Several countries use it as their official currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency. The United States has a mixed economy and has maintained a stable overall GDP growth rate, a moderate unemployment rate, and high levels of research and capital investment. Its seven largest trading partners are Canada, China, Mexico, Japan, Germany, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.

The US has abundant natural resources, a well-developed infrastructure, and high productivity. It has the world's ninth-highest per capita GDP (nominal) and tenth-highest per capita GDP (PPP) as of 2013. Americans have the highest average household and employee income among OECD nations, and in 2010 had the fourth highest median household income, down from second highest in 2007. It has been the world's largest national economy (not including colonial empires) since at least the 1890s.

The U.S. is the world's largest producer of oil and natural gas. It is one of the largest trading nations in the world as well as the world's second largest manufacturer, representing a fifth of the global manufacturing output. The US not only has the largest internal market for goods, but also dominates the trade in services. US total trade amounted to $4.93T in 2012. Of the world's 500 largest companies, 128 are headquartered in the US.

The United States has one of the world's largest and most influential financial markets. The New York Stock Exchange is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization.Foreign investments made in the US total almost $2.4 trillion, while American investments in foreign countries total over $3.3 trillion. The economy of the U.S. leads in international ranking on venture capital and Global Research and Development funding. Consumer spending comprises 71% of the US economy in 2013. The United States has the largest consumer market in the world, with a household final consumption expenditure five times larger than Japan's. The labor market has attracted immigrants from all over the world and its net migration rate is among the highest in the world. The U.S. is one of the top-performing economies in studies such as the Ease of Doing Business Index, the Global Competitiveness Report, and others.

The US economy went through an economic downturn following the financial crisis of 2007–08, with output as late as 2013 still below potential according to the Congressional Budget Office. The economy, however, began to recover in the second half of 2009, and as of November 2015, unemployment had declined from a high of 10% to 5%.

In December 2014, public debt was slightly more than 100% of GDP. Domestic financial assets totaled $131 trillion and domestic financial liabilities totaled $106 trillion.


As of February 2013, the unemployment rate in the United States was 7.7% or 12.0 million people, while the government's broader U-6 unemployment rate, which includes the part-time underemployed was 14.3% or 22.2 million people. These figures were calculated with a civilian labor force of approximately 155 million people. relative to a U.S. population of approximately 315 million people.

In 2009 through 2013, following the Great Recession, the emerging problem of jobless recoveries resulted in record levels of long-term unemployment with over 6 million workers looking for work longer than 6 months as of January 2010. This particularly affected older workers. In the year following the recession's end in June 2009 in the United States, immigrants gained 656,000 jobs, while U.S.-born workers lost more than a million jobs.

In April 2010, the official unemployment rate was 9.9%, but the government's broader U-6 unemployment rate was 17.1%. In the period between February 2008 and February 2010, the number of people working part-time for economic reasons has increased by 4 million to 8.8 million, an 83% increase in part-time workers during the two-year period. By 2013, although the unemployment rate had fallen below 8%, the record proportion of long term unemployed and continued decreasing household income remained indicative of a jobless recovery.

After being higher in the postwar period, the U.S. unemployment rate fell below the rising eurozone unemployment rate in the mid-1980s and has remained significantly lower almost continuously since.] In 1955, 55% of Americans worked in services, between 30% and 35% in industry, and between 10% and 15% in agriculture. By 1980, over 65% were employed in services, between 25% and 30% in industry, and less than 5% in agriculture. Male unemployment continued to be significantly higher than female unemployment (9.8% vs. 7.5% in 2009). The unemployment among Caucasians continues to be much lower than African-American unemployment (at 8.5% vs. 15.8% in 2009).

The youth unemployment rate was 18.5% in July 2009, the highest July rate since 1948. The unemployment rate of young African Americans was 28.2% in May 2013. Officially, Detroit's unemployment rate is 27%, but Detroit News suggests that nearly half of this city's working-age population may be unemployed.

The average home in the United States has more than 700 square feet per person, which is 50%–100% more than the average in other high-income countries. Similarly, ownership rates of gadgets and amenities are relatively high compared to other countries.

Between June 2007 and November 2008 the global recession led to falling asset prices around the world. Assets owned by Americans lost about a quarter of their value. Since peaking in the second quarter of 2007, household wealth is down $14 trillion. The Fed also said that at the end of 2008, the debt owed by nonfinancial sectors was $33.5 trillion, including household debt valued at $13.8 trillion.

It was reported by Pew Research Center in 2016 that, for the first time in 130 years, Americans aged 18 to 34 are more likely to live with their parents than in any other housing situation.