US FOCUS


Mobility USA In good shape?


As the presidential election approaches and repercussions from the UK’s vote to leave the EU continue, Relocate Global assesses the state of global mobility and domestic relocation in the USA, with contributions from some of the major players.


H


aving grown faster than was expected in the first quarter of 2016, thanks in part to


strengthening export sales of goods and services, the US economy’s performance during the second quarter presented a mixed picture. In its press release for Q2, issued in


late July, the US Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said that gross domestic product had increased at an annual rate of 1.2 per cent, though it emphasised that this figure was subject to revision. Saying that the US economy appeared


to have “lost steam” as it entered its eighth year of expansion, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) warned that it remained vulnerable in the face of global economic turmoil. Business investment, said the WSJ,


had fallen by the most in six years, owing to depressed oil markets. On the plus side, consumer spending and real disposable incomes had grown, and the housing market had continued its recovery. July saw construction of new homes


rise at its fastest rate in nearly a year, led by growth in apartment building in the north-eastern US. This has increased hopes of an improvement in the economy in the third quarter. Another positive sign was that overall


industrial output, which measures factory, utilities and mining production, beat analyst’s predictions, rising by 0.7 per cent. In mid-August, news that US core


inf lation (used by the Federal Reserve as a key metric for deciding when interest rates should rise) for July was lower than expected made it likely that rates would


remain unchanged for the rest of 2016. Following what it described as “a weak


spring”, the Washington Post reported that the US jobs market had added a “healthy” 255,000 jobs in July, with hiring strong across almost every major industry. Said the Post, “Professional and


business services added 70,000 jobs, including computer systems designers, architects and consultants. Healthcare employment rose by 43,000, while the financial industry gained 18,000 jobs. “Even the government hired more


workers, adding 38,000 positions, primarily in local education. However, mining continued to suffer job losses.” However, the Post added that the


labour market’s “remarkable strength” had not been enough to “overpower the broader forces holding back the economy”.


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