The automotive industry was never considered to be an indicator of the economic status until recently. The American car companies have been put through the toughest conditions in history with one filing for bankruptcy while undergoing government restructuring and another being taken over by a competitor. Even though the economy has shed light on both strong and weak organizations, the automotive industry has experienced mostly negative attention from most of the indicators to be discussed.
Real GDPGross Domestic Product also known as GDP is used to identify economic health of a country. GDP is the sum from output of goods and services produced or provided within the United States borders. However, transactions that are considered underground transactions, for whatever reason are not reported to the government and are not a part of the numbers used to calculate real GDP. The total sum includes all that is produced and sold and is used not only by government, but investment brokers, and bankers in determining tax, interest rates, and investment opportunities.
United States
United States
Labor union parade, NY., May 1, 1911 (LOC)The measure of GDP is important as the measures are used to help better understand not only inflation but also employment.
According to U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, "The total output of goods and services produced by labor and property in the United States decreased at an annual rate of 5.7 percent in the first quarter of 2009ÃÂ (para. 1). In the fourth quarter, real GDP decreased 6.3 percent. Motor vehicle output subtracted 1.36 percentage points from the first-quarter change in real GDP after subtracting 2.01 percentage points from the fourth-quarter change.
UnemploymentThe current rate of total unemployment in the United States has risen to 9.4% in May of 2009, (BLS, 2009). This is an increase of 0.5% from the rate of 8.9% in April of 2009. In...