US moves out of recession

29 October 2009 4:52 pm | By Christopher Jarvis

The US saw an expansion of 3.5 per cent between July and September, figures from the US Department of Commerce show.

 The US growth follows recent news that Japan, China, Germany, and France have all climbed out of their recessions. The UK may now be the only top economy to remain officially in the slump.

The Obama administration stated that the news is a “welcome milestone,” but stopped short of celebrating a complete recovery.

The White House’s stimulus package, passed earlier this year, is considered a major catalyst to the quarter’s growth, as it increased consumer spending that the US economy is so dependent on.  Whether the growth can be maintained without government propulsion remains to be seen.

Boosts from some portions of the stimulus plan, such as the Cash for Clunkers scheme, have already waned. Data from the US Department of Commerce shows that in August, the US auto industry saw a rise of almost 8 per cent thanks to the scheme, but as it wound down in September as industry sales fell by more than 10 percent.

Unemployment remains a problem as well, despite the growth. According to the US Department of Labor, the unemployment rate sits at 9.8 percent. 

US Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner says: “Unemployment remains unacceptably high for every person out of work, for every family facing foreclosure, for every small business facing a credit crunch, the recession remains alive and acute.”

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