3.1% Income Growth from Year Ago Required to Keep Up in U.S. Economy
Monday June 29, 2015

 
Based upon last week's Third Estimate of U.S. First Quarter GDP released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, StayingEven.com has revised the Q1 2015 Staying Even Index (SEI) to 3.1%.  The SEI measures the year-to-year income growth required for individuals to keep up in the U.S. economy. The 3.1% figure is significantly higher than the reported first quarter -0.1% increase in the consumer price index (CPI-U) compared to the year ago period, demonstrating that raises that keep up with inflation are not sufficient to stay even in the growing U.S. economy. 

The 3.1% increase in the Staying Even Index (SEI) is based upon reported Q1 year-over-year nominal GDP growth of 3.8% and population growth of 0.7%. The Q1 SEI has been revised upwards from the previous estimate of 2.9%.  The entire upward revision is due the upward revision in first quarter year-on-year nominal GDP growth from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, from 3.6% to 3.8%.

These projections suggest that individuals whose Q1 2015 total income from all sources grew by more than 3.1% from the same period in 2014 expanded their adjusted share of the U.S. economy, and those whose total income grew by less than this fell behind compared to the prior year.  As previously released, SEI growth for calendar year 2014 was 3.1%. 

StayingEven.com and @StayingEven will publish updates to these figures as GDP and population estimates are revised over the coming months and as future quarter GDP estimates are released.  We are dedicated to helping individuals understand what income growth is required to keep up in the U.S. Economy. 

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