In the past three years, the most noteworthy aspect of the US recovery has been its weakness. The headwinds arising from the 2008 financial collapse, especially against household finances, housing and lending, have held annualised growth at the meagre 1.7 per cent rate we saw in the last quarter. They have prevented an improvement in the labour market, as evidenced by the recent 30-year low in the proportion of the workforce in employment. These headwinds are now beginning to abate but it may be another four years before they fully subside.
過去3年來,美國經濟復蘇中最值得關注的一點就是復蘇一直顯得疲軟乏力。2008年金融危機引發各種逆風,家庭財務、房地產和放貸等領域首當其沖。在逆風侵襲下,美國上季度經濟增速僅為1.7%(按年率計算)。這些逆風使就業市場難以好轉,就業人口占勞動人口比例最近達到30年低點就證實了這點。目前逆風正開始減弱,但完全平息下來可能還需要4年時間。