October 30, 2013

Spain’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.1 percent in the three-month period from July through September, the Spanish National Statistics Institute reported today. The third-quarter economic growth ended a two-year recession. Spain’s economy had contracted for the previous nine quarters. Spain—with Greece, Ireland, Italy, and Portugal—was one of the countries hit worst by the recent debt crisis in the eurozone. (The eurozone consists of the 17 European Union member nations that adopted a single currency, the euro). According to the Institute report, Spain’s third quarter economic growth was driven by an increase in exports and a boost to tourism from vacationers avoiding the ongoing upheavals in North Africa and the Middle East.

The euro has replaced the individual currencies of the eurozone—made up of 17 member nations of the European Union. The eurozone has finally begun to climb out of a lengthy recession (European Central Bank).

Spain’s economy was hard hit when a decade-long property bubble burst with the worldwide crash of 2008. The country’s banks, sitting on hundreds of billions of euros in bad property loans, only survived with government bailouts. Thousands of businesses went under, and the country’s rate of unemployment soared to 26 percent. The rate of unemployment among people under the age of 25 spiked to more than 50 percent. High unemployment combined with a government austerity program consisting of spending cuts and tax hikes triggered huge public protests.

Many economists now suggest that the eurozone debt crisis appears to be easing. They point out that Ireland emerged from recession in the second quarter of 2013, helped by a rebound in exports and a rise in consumer spending. Portugal pulled out of two and a half years of deep recession with economic growth of 1.1 percent in the second quarter of this year, surpassing expectations. Economists believe that Greece’s record six-year recession is bottoming out, with the economy set to shrink this year by significantly less than analysts had forecast in June. Italy remains in recession, but the Economics Ministry reported yesterday that economic indicators suggest that a predicted recovery next year will likely be stronger than expected.

Additional World Book articles:

• Crisis in the Eurozone (a special report)
• Economics Crisis: The Banking Meltdown (a special report)
• European Union: The Euro (a special report)
• Eurozone Crisis: No End in Sight (a special report)

November 8, 2012

Barack Obama was reelected president of the United States on November 6, winning at least 303 Electoral College votes, compared with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s 206 votes. In defeating Romney, the president carried the swing states of Colorado, Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin. He also took Michigan and Minnesota, where Republican super PAC’s (political action committees) spent millions trying to influence voters. Romney won North Carolina and Indiana, which the president carried four years ago. The president holds a narrow advantage in Florida, where the counting of ballots continues.  Obama is the first president to win reelection with unemployment above 7.2 percent since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936.

Barack Obama won reelection with at least 303 votes in the Electoral College. (The White House)

Republicans remain firmly in control of the House of Representatives. Democrats retained their majority in the U.S. Senate, taking over highly contested Republican seats in Indiana and Massachusetts while holding on to most of those they already had, including in Virginia and Missouri.

Six of the newly elected senators are women, raising the total in the chamber to 20, the most ever. One new member, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, will become the Senate’s first openly gay member. Voters in both Maryland and Maine approved referenda allowing same-sex couples to marry–the first time same-sex marriage has been approved by a popular vote in the United States.  Minnesotans rejected a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in that state. In Washington state and Colorado, citizens voted to legalize recreational use of marijuana.

Additional World Book articles:

• Joe Biden
• Election campaign
• Electoral College
• Paul Ryan
• Election 1936 (a Back in Time article)
• 2008 Elections: A Pivotal Choice (a special report)
• Tempest in a Tea Party (a special report)

November 2, 2012

The United States economy created 171,000 jobs in October, significantly more than the 125,000 forecast by economists, the U.S. Department of Labor announced today. The unemployment rate in the United States ticked up slightly to 7.9 percent, up from 7.8 percent in September. Economists attributed that rise mainly to an increase in the number of people trying to re-enter a stronger job market. The Labor Department also said hiring in August and September was higher than originally estimated, with an additional 84,000 new jobs reported. Economists noted that today’s figures as well as other indicators point to a steady, if slow, recovery from the economic crash that began in September 2008.

The seal of the United States Department of Labor (World Book illustration)

According to the Labor Department, jobs in professional and business services rose by 51,000, while hires in the health care industry rose by 31,000. Government payrolls dropped by 13,000 following a three-month increase. Manufacturing jobs remained steady, with employment in mining falling by 9,000.

Additional World Book articles:

• Bank 2008 (a Back in Time article)
• Bank 2009 (a Back in Time article)
• Economics, U.S. 2008 (a Back in Time article)
• Economics, U.S. 2009  (a Back in Time article)
• Economic Crisis: The Banking Meltdown (a special report)
• Economic Crisis: The Government Jumps In (a special report)
• Economic Crises – Then and Now (a special report)

October 5, 2012

The rate of unemployment in the United States fell to 7.8 percent in September, down from 8.1 percent in August, the U.S. Department of Labor announced today. The September unemployment rate was the lowest since January 2009, before the full effects of the Great Recession were fully felt through the whole economy. The U.S. economy added 114,000 jobs in September, beating all expectations. According to Labor Department data, the construction industry added 5,000 jobs, the government sector added 10,000 jobs, and the health care sector added 44,000 jobs. Economists note that today’s figures as well as other indicators point to a steady, if slow, recovery from the economic crash that began in September 2008.

The seal of the United States Department of Labor. (World Book illustration)

Political experts pointed out that a 7.8-percent unemployment rate takes President Barack Obama back to the same jobless rate he inherited when he took office in 2009, which they see as psychologically important in this election year. Conservative commentators reacted to the news with the suggestion that the figures were “cooked” by the Labor Department to make the president look good in the final weeks of the election campaign. The Secretary of the Department of Labor, Hilda Solis, responded that it is “ludicrous” to think the statistics could have been manipulated: “I’m insulted when I hear that because we have a very professional civil service.”

Additional World Book articles:

• Bank 2008 (a Back in Time article)
• Bank 2009 (a Back in Time article)
• Economics, U.S. 2008 (a Back in Time article)
• Economics, U.S. 2009  (a Back in Time article)
• Economic Crisis: The Banking Meltdown (a special report)
• Economic Crisis: The Government Jumps In (a special report)
• Economic Crises – Then and Now (a special report)

September 7, 2012

Barack Obama officially accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for a second term as president of the United States on September 6 in a speech arguing that the 2012 presidential election presents American voters with a “choice between two different paths for America.” President Obama received the nomination on September 5 during a roll-call vote of state delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.

President Barack Obama accepted the Democratic Party's nomination for a second term as president on September 6. (The White House)

In his acceptance speech, President Obama sought to rally his supporters, saying, “If you turn away now, if you buy into the cynicism that the change we fought for isn’t possible, well, change will not happen. If you give up on the idea that your voice can make a difference, then other voices will fill the void.” He also addressed disappointment over the pace of the economic recovery.  “Our challenges can be met. The path we offer may be harder, but it leads to a better place. And I’m asking you to choose that future.” He argued that he had put in place the foundation for a revived economy but that more time was needed to address economic problems that had developed over several decades.

Political experts note that the president is faced with the political fight of his life against the Republican nominee, Mitt Romney. At the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, on August 30, former Massachusetts Governor Romney contended that continuing high unemployment had led many Americans to give up on President Obama. He argued that the president had failed to create enough jobs, cut the deficit, or increase incomes.  In his acceptance speech, President Obama responded by linking Romney and his running mate, Paul D. Ryan, to what he described as the failed trickle-down economic policies that favor the rich, noting: “all they have to offer is the same prescription they’ve had for the last 30 years.”

Additional World Book articles:

• Economic Crisis: The Banking Meltdown (a special report)
• Economic Crisis: The Government Jumps In (a special report)
• Economic Crisis – Then and Now (a special report)