Unemployment Rate in the U.S. Reaches Lowest Level in Two Decades

Official statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor indicate that the unemployment rate in the country remained at 4.1 percent for each month of the last quarter of 2017, the lowest rate since the year 2000. This report, published on the official website of the U.S. Department of Labor, states that 2.1 million new job opportunities were created in the United States over the past year, and the unemployment rate decreased by about 0.6 percent. In 2016, 2.2 million new job opportunities were also created in the U.S. By the end of last year, the number of unemployed individuals in the U.S. reached 6.6 million. The unemployment rate by age group in the U.S. is as follows: Age Group - Unemployment Rate: Youth 13.6%, Adult Men 3.8%, Adult Women 3.7%, Whites 3.7%, Blacks 6.8%, Asians 2.5%, Latinos 4.9%. Despite the improvement in the unemployment situation in the U.S., the pace of new job creation is declining, as the unemployment rate is already low and some unemployed individuals are generally unwilling to work. Over the past year, wages in the U.S. increased by 2.5 percent, reaching $26.63 per hour in December. Each employed American worked an average of 34.5 hours per week in December. Donald Trump, the President of the United States, promised during his election campaign that millions of new jobs would be created for Americans, especially through reducing imports and increasing exports. After winning the election, he repeatedly requested American companies operating abroad, particularly in China, to return to the country and focus on production in the U.S. According to the Associated Press, large American companies currently have $2.6 trillion in cash accumulated outside the U.S. This amount could provide every American citizen with a $7,000 check. One of the incentives from the Trump administration for American companies to operate domestically was the tax reduction plan that was passed by Congress last month. One of the goals of this legislation is to lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent. Forecasts indicate that the new tax law will add $1.5 trillion to U.S. debt over the next 10 years. The current U.S. debt stands at $20 trillion.