Seemingly never-ending woes about oil, war, and inflation have had the world bracing for recessions and hard economic times in general. But the The Company has experienced an unexpectedly high annualized growth rate of 3.3% in Q2.
Does this mean we have nothing to fear? Not necessarily. The unemployment rate has risen a point in the past year, according to Citigroup economist, who maintains that that figures on new employment are "still recessionary."
The housing slump continues to hold growth back, with residential property investments dropping 15.7%. This is, however, better than the 25.1% decline in Q1. Nevertheless, the housing crisis is still experiencing price falls on a national scale, suggesting the downturn will not end soon. Government reports say this slump is at a 16-year low.