WSJ: Best Pay Raises In Nearly A Decade

NYT: Sidelined Workers Are Not Only Feeling Optimistic…But Are Actually Finding Work

WaPo: The Country Now Has 7.1 Million Openings, A Record High

AP: U.S. Employers Added A Stellar 250,000 Jobs

NBC: Consumer Spending…Is At An 18-Year High

CNBC: Job Growth Blew Past Expectations

FBN: Soaring Past Expectations

 

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen Chuck Grassley of Iowa released the following statement on the booming U.S. economy and wage growth.

“For years, Washington talking heads said Americans should just get used to the ‘new normal’ of stagnant growth under former President Obama. They were wrong, and today’s economy proves it. Americans are back to work and wages are rising. Thanks to the Republican agenda, the American economy is booming again. Workers, employers and small business owners are all more optimistic than ever. This holiday season, Americans will have more money in their pockets, more financial security for their families and more hope for their futures. That’s something everyone should be able to celebrate.”

Grassley’s tweet about today’s economic report can be found here. Grassley recently wrote an op-ed on how tax cuts and reform legislation is working for Iowa.

Economic data provided by the White House to Grassley’s office can be found below.

Iowa has demonstrated strong economic growth during the past year, with steady job gains in manufacturing, a declining unemployment rate and impressive gains in median income.

  • The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is estimated to lead to a 7.1 percent increase in wage and salary income for Iowa’s average household and increase median wages by $4,128.
  • The unemployment rate in Iowa has fallen one percentage point since the election of President Trump and is the second lowest unemployment rate in the United States at just 2.5 percent.
  • Monthly initial claims for unemployment insurance in Iowa have fallen by nearly 14 percent since President Trump was elected and recently reached their lowest level since 1999.
  • Real median household income in Iowa increased by 5.2 percent to reach $63,481—the highest level ever recorded.
  • Over a half a million customers have seen utility rates slashed in Iowa as a direct result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
  • Under President Trump, the percent of Iowans living below the poverty line decreased by 0.7 percentage points to 9.1 percent, reaching the lowest point since 2007.
  • Manufacturing is Iowa’s fastest growing sector, with total manufacturing employment increasing by 6.2 percent since the election. Year-over-year job growth in Iowa manufacturing recently reached its fastest pace since 1998.

 

 

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