Six Months of Jobs, Growth and Optimism

Initial Numbers Show GOP Tax Plan Working as Expected

Republicans committed to overhauling the tax code with a focus on lifting middle-class families, creating jobs, and spurring economic growth. Half a year into the new tax code and we are already seeing a surging economy, robust job growth and record optimism. Take a look at the good news:

MORE JOBS

• The May jobs report was a blockbuster. With an unemployment rate at 3.8 percent, unemployment is at an 18-year low.

• In fact, Americans without a high school diploma are seeing one of the sharpest drops in unemployment. In May, the unemployment rate for workers age 25 and older and with less than a high school diploma was 5.4 percent, down from 6.2 percent last year.

• The unemployment rate for African Americans also hit its lowest rate on record last month; and the unemployment rate for Hispanics is near record lows.

INCREASED GROWTH

• Second quarter economic growth is tracking close to 4 percent, bolstered by strong retail sales. This quarter alone is on track to double 2017’s full-year pace.

ECONOMIC OPTIMISM

• Small businesses like the direction the economy is headed: The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Optimism Index increased in May to the second highest level in the survey’s history. Small businesses reported higher compensation, profits and sales trends.

• And, this economic optimism is shared by low-income Americans. Confidence among the bottom third of income earners has risen more than 11 points since February, coinciding with faster wage growth for workers at the margin and a falling unemployment rate.

As chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax policy, U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) was one of the chief architects of the tax reform overhaul. For more information, visit: finance.senate.gov/taxreform.

###

• Print
• Email
• Tweet