PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2015

MARKET SURVEY 15 PET planet insider Vol. 16 No. 10/15 the increase was moderate, but there was a distinct improvement in the labour market. With an average crea- tion of 246,000 new jobs each month (in 2013 it had only been 194,000 new jobs) the workforce was able to grow, and the unemployment rate fell correspondingly. Nevertheless, the rate of employment remained low, and the proportion of compulsory part time workers and long term unem- ployed workers has continued to remain high despite a falling trend. The real estate market is no longer driving the recovery. In 2014 it only showed slight increases within the single digit range. In the years 2011-2013 the real estate market had spearheaded the US economy with double-digit growth rates. In the population centres, however, the prices for property have once again dropped back to the levels last seen in 2008. It is primarily the improve- ments to the labour market sit- uation and the fact that energy prices are low worldwide that contribute to a distinct improve- ment in consumer sentiment. This is also evident in the encouraging growth of 4.3% in private consumer spending in 2014, which is traditionally the most important pillar of the US economy. However, despite the improvement in the labour market situation, wages have hardly risen at all (2.2% in 2014). Inflation also continues to remain low at around 1%. External Trade The USA is the largest outlet in the world for imported goods and, in its capacity as an exporter, was second only to China in 2014 (goods only). In 2014, the USA’s trade balance closed with a deficit of US$505bn. This is about US$28.7bn higher than the deficit for 2013 (US$476.3bn). The greater part of this is accounted for by China, with a bilateral trade deficit of US$342.6bn in 2014. 2012 2013 2014 GDP nominal (billions of USD) 16,160 16,770 17,420 GDP growth real (%) 2.2 2.2 2.4 Unemployment rate (%) 7.8 7.4 6.2 (Sources: Dept. of Foreign Affairs and Trade March 15, 2015, US economic statistics, Wikipedia)