Joltin' Joe is impressed... In June of 2009, America's economy hit the low-point of the financial crisis. For the 120 months since, it's been growing. And starting this week, it's officially America's longest stretch of economic growth without a recession since World War II.
In honor of Independence Day... we're jumping into this streak, Snacks style. Here's how the economy has changed since the depths of the Great Recession, which was triggered by the financial crisis, which was triggered by the subprime real estate bubble:
- 🔧 21M jobs have been created: And unemployment is at a modern record low of 3.8%.
- 📈 Stocks have more than tripled: The S&P 500's 230% gain in the past 10 years was powered by low interest rates and ballooning profits.
- 😬 We're in a trade war now: It's concerning. But at least the economy's in a good enough position to endure the pain.
- 🎭 The number of billionaires has almost tripled: But a divided American recovery has left behind those outside of major jobs hubs.
Does an economic expansion die of old age?... Every recession in history — except this one — has been followed at some point by another. Many analysts are looking for signs of another economic downturn... which can have the effect of hurting confidence... and actually contributing to the economic downturn (it's a freaky self-fulfilling prophecy). We'll learn more as 2nd quarter earnings reports hit this month.