Second Quarter Economic Picture Mixed
Aug 18th, 2008 | By Dawn Rivers Baker | Category: EconomyLast week, the SBA Office of Advocacy released its Small Business Quarterly Indicators for the second quarter of this year and, once again, there was a lot more red in the numbers than anybody likes to see. The financial markets were making their pain felt, with tightening credit standards and weak small business loan demand. Prices were up, confidence was down, and the labor market looked poor with almost half a million jobs lost during the first six months of the year.
The news wasn’t all bad. Consumer spending rose slightly as people started getting those economic stimulus checks in hand. Real exports were up “dramatically” and imports were down, thanks to the still-weak U.S. dollar. And, possibly as one result of that increase in exports, the manufacturing sector showed some signs of a possible recovery. In the end, the real story here is the skyrocketing price of energy. Since 2003, crude prices have climbed by more than 330%; there’s no way our economy could absorb that kind of price increase to such a crucial commodity without pain. The only remaining questions are how long before we either adjust or find alternatives, and how much economic damage will we have to endure before then?
