On Wednesday, Jared Bernstein of the White House Council of Economic Advisers stated that although GDP growth was slow in first quarter of 2018, there are still “very positive” elements to it. He also noted that price pressures have created some headwinds and consumers can get some tailwinds through spending. These contexts will be used to evaluate the report .”
Bernstein stated, “What every economic analyst should be looking at it is getting underneath the GDP report. The GDP reported a negative figure in the first quarter. It was lowered by net exports and inventories. The key ingredients of economic growth were positive, particularly consumer spending and investment. These components together represent more 80% GDP. In fact, inventories actually increased in the first quarter. However, they didn’t grow as quickly as in the previous quarter. There are many moving parts. We are most concerned about how the American middle-class and low-income families do in an economy with price pressures and tailwinds, but also strong consumer spending and a very stable labor market. These contexts will be used to evaluate the report .”
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