Quarterly Economic Outlook
Below is an overview of the economic indicators released by the SBA, Office for Advocacy for the 1st quarter of 2007.
Although the economy continues to grows, the rate that it is growing is slowing down due to a weak housing market. The GDP is at an annualized rate of 1.3%, down from 2.5% in the fourth quarter.
Small businesses are less optimistic about the economy which results in less investment in expanding their businesses. Incorporated self-employment is slightly up.
Consumers and employment opportunities continue to be bright. Unemployment rate continues to stand at 4.4% - the lowest rate since May 2001. Core inflation (excludes energy and food) is lower and private sector salaries have increased by 3.5% and benefits by 2.3% since first quarter 2006.
Interest rates are virtually unchanged since last year. The rate for the smallest loans has risen over 2% since 2005 which affects the demand for small business loans. Venture capital investments has increased to $7.1 billion recently.