Majority of the politicians and the people in general are not yet aware about the state the US economy has been pushed into. According to the economic growth figures that have been predicted widely, the economy is all set to decelerate remarkably in the next two decades thus foiling the plans of a balanced financial state by the Republicans and the Democratic goal of increased social spending.
Impact of Slowing Growth
The new trend in the economic growth statistics can have a tremendous and damaging effect both on the investors as well as the business houses. Some of the effects are:
• The economic growth slowdown has led to difficulty in improving the profit of businesses
• The stock market is struggling to even the odds and emerge victorious
• Investments are not assured of the profits as expected
• Social inequality is starting to rear its ugly head with the ineffective economic growth policies that the government is trying to put in place
• Tax revenues are expected to fall well below the projected target
Holiday Spending to Slow Down
The holiday spending in 2013 is already a big trial for both the retailer and the marketers. One reason is the fewer days for shopping occurring between the Thanksgiving Day and the Christmas. The second reason and one of the bigger concerns is the uncertain economic growth. With the government shutdown, market analysts are forecasting a trim down of the holiday spending. A decrease of at least 2% is expected this year. As a result, the retailers and marketing people are doubling their efforts at attracting the shoppers who appear to shy away from spending too much this season.
Market Repercussions
The market conditions are also not over bright now in the United States. Though the underlying mood is targeted at achieving a higher and stable economic growth, the conditions are not too favorable. According to a recent research, the net closure of stores is expected to rise this year with the economic growth developments taking a severe beating. The revenue is expected to go down by nearly 250 points which represents the closure of over 50 retail outlets.
Declining Jobs
The elimination of jobs has seen a huge increase this year. The following statistics will prove this point irrevocably.
• The laydown of over 380,000 jobs in the first nine months in various organizations attests to this fact.
• Merck Corporation has eliminated over 8000 jobs this year.
• Compared to the jobs that were cut last year, 2013 has seen a stunning increase of 19%.
• Part time jobs are on the decline and those who do take the part time jobs are well below the poverty line.
• Unbelievably, only 47% of the adult population in U.S is employed.
Though on a wider outlook, the economic growth benefits are not expected to be encouraging with the Gallup Economic Confidence Index still in the negative, the economic growth situation has perked up a little with the holidays looming ahead. This happens despite the shutdown announcement made by the Government. The economic growth disadvantage combined with the government policies has not dampened the holiday spirit much in spite of the 2013 holiday season being predicted as the worst ever since the murky 2009 season.
