Trump Effect: Nation brimming with positive economic news

“Recent headlines and articles trumpet the good news: President Donald J. Trump’s economic policies are growing the economy, producing record-high confidence, and creating new jobs.”

President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda has steadily shown results that mean higher earnings for working families, more jobs for American workers and a bright future for those entering the workforce.

GDP grew 2.3% in the first quarter, beating analysists expectations.

“Businesses are brimming with confidence in the Trump era and they continued to ramp up their outlays in the first quarter … The nation’s gross domestic product — the value of all goods and services produced in the U.S. — increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.3%, the Commerce Department said Friday. Economists projected 2% growth.” – USA Today

The U.S. set a record for exports in March which cut the U.S. Trade deficit to just $49 billion

“Record exports trimmed the U.S. trade deficit in March, the first drop in seven months in a massive gap that President Donald Trump is determined to shrink with an aggressive America first policy. The Commerce Department says the trade deficit — the difference between what America sells and what it buys in foreign markets — slid to $49 billion, down from $57.7 billion in February and lowest since September.” – Associated Press

April consumer confidence rises to near 18-year high

“[Consumer] confidence rebounded slightly in April with a small gain that put the index back near an 18-year high, suggesting the U.S. economy remains on sound footing … The consumer confidence index climbed to 128.7 in April from 127 in March, the Conference Board said Tuesday. Two months ago, the index hit the highest level since the end of 2000.” – Marketwatch

Consumers willing to spend on larger consumer items and houses as optimism climbs

“A bigger share of respondents expect to purchase big-ticket items including cars and major appliances within six months, while a record 7.8 percent of respondents said they plan to buy a home. That will support both consumer spending, the biggest part of the economy, as well as housing prices that are already handily outpacing wage gains amid tight supplies. At the same time, the April report from the Conference Board showed the labor differential, which measures the gap between respondents saying jobs are plentiful and those who say they’re hard to get, narrowed to 22.9 percentage points, a three-month low.” – Bloomberg

Americans seeking unemployment at lowest levels since early 70’s

“Jobless claims ran at historic lows to end April, a great sign for the economy. After hitting the lowest level since 1969 the week before, new claims for unemployment benefits rose just 2,000 to 211,000 in the last week of the month, the Department of Labor reported Thursday morning. That number was well below the 224,000 that forecasters had expected. The past two weeks’ very low readings drove the monthly average for claims down to 221,500. That’s the lowest since early 1973.”

Wages grew at largest pace since 2008

“U.S. employment costs increased more than forecast in the first quarter as worker pay and benefits accelerated, according to Labor Department data released Friday. The ECI data showed year-over-year acceleration in compensation in both services and goods-producing industries, underscoring widespread demand for labor.” – Bloomberg

Factory hiring returns to pre-Obama, pre-recession levels

“Hiring in the manufacturing sector in February rose to the highest level since before the Great Recession began, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Manufacturing hires rose to 380,000 in the month, the most of any month since November of 2007, the month before the recession officially began.” – Washington Examiner

Improving economy changes momentum back to owning homes instead of renting

“Rising wages, loosening credit standards and demographic shifts are all creating momentum for owning rather than renting. The homeownership rate rose from the prior year for the fifth consecutive quarter in 2018, according to U.S. Census data released Thursday. It held steady at 64.2%, unchanged from the prior quarter and its highest level since 2014. The share of Americans who own a home rose from the prior year, from 63.6% in the first quarter of 2017. The homeownership rate rose last year for the first time in 13 years.” – The Wall Street Journal