U.S – Economy Overview

• Capital: Washington D.C.
• Area: 9,826,630 km²
• Population: 304,541,000
• GDP (PPP): US$13.543 trillion
• GDP (Nominal): US$13.794 trillion
• Currency: US Dollar (USD)
• Time Zone: GMT-5 to -10

The U.S constitutes the largest national economy in the world, with a GDP of over $13 trillion which makes up over a quarter of the gross world product. Today it ranks 8^th in the world in regard to nominal GDP per capital. It the world’s largest importer and third largest exporter of goods. However, Americans like to do everything big, and with 23% of the global total, the U.S also has the largest national debt in the world.

Open a FREE RetailFX account now for the ultimate forex trading experience!

In the U.S market-oriented economy, the private sector is responsible for the lion’s share of the economy, with federal and state government accounting for 12.4% of the GDP. U.S business firms enjoy great flexibility in decisions concerning capital plant, labor management, and product development. The dominance of technology oriented businesses was responsible for the gradual emergence of a 'two-tier labor market' in which those in the bottom tier lack the education and the skills of those at in the top. Though lifestyle standards have improved for the majority of social classes since the late 1970’s, these improvements did nothing to hinder the growing income rift. The gap between the top one percentile and the bottom ninety was roughly as large in 2005 as it was in 1928, and higher than in any European nation. Economists such as Alan Greenspan see this increasing income inequality as a major cause for concern.

The war with Iraq, which commenced in March of 2003, and the subsequent ongoing occupation, required major shifts in national resources to the military.

Industry

Though the U.S economy is considered to be postindustrial, the U.S remains a considerable industrial power, with chemical products being the leading field of manufacturing. The United States is a long standing leader in scientific research and technological innovation. Today, the bulk of research and development funding, 64%, comes from the private sector. The civil airline industry is a major industry, mostly privately owned. The five largest airlines in the world are all American, with Southwest Airlines at number one.

Energy

The U.S is the world’s third largest oil producer, and unfortunately also its largest consumer. It is also the number one producer of nuclear and electrical energy in the world, with the world’s largest resources of aluminum, phosphates, sulfur, liquid natural gas, and salt.

Service

As in most postindustrial economies, the service sector contributes 67.8% of the U.S GDP. By gross business receipts, the leading national service field is wholesale and retail trade. When ranked by net income, finance and insurance take the top two slots.

Agriculture

Although U.S agriculture accounts for less than 1% of the country’s GDP, the U.S is the world's largest producer of soybeans and corn. Surprisingly enough, recent studies have shown that the country's leading cash crop is in fact none other that marijuana, whose cultivation and sale is generally prohibited by federal law. The U.S is the primary developer and grower of genetically modified food crop. Over 50% of the global biotech crop land is located in the U.S.

Employment

In 2005, 155 million persons were employed with earnings, with 80% employed full time and 79% of the total work force employed in the service sector. The fields of health care and social assistance turned out to be the leading employers with over 15 million employees. Only an estimated 12% of American workers are unionized, in comparison to 30% in Western Europe. According to the World Bank, hiring and firing workers in the U.S is the easiest in the world. The U.S also maintains the highest labor productivity in the world, perhaps due to the fact that Americans tend to work considerably more annual hours than other developed nations’ workers, with fewer vacation days.

Click on your country of interest to learn more about its economy.