A new report shows the U.S. economy saw more growth last year than it has seen in decades.
The nation’s GDP or, gross domestic product, saw a 6.9 percent increase in the last quarter of 2021 and that is the largest jump since 1984; a statistic that may shock most people but not the experts.
"Americans have been more productive this year than the year before. Which isn’t surprising, given that in 2020, we had the huge nosedive and people stayed in quarantine for a year,” said Dr. Rob Tennant, associate professor of Economics at Texas A&M Central Texas.
Central Texas business leaders say the national growth mirrors what they are seeing.
"Business-wise, I'm doing okay because the consumers have no choice but to pay for the product they need. So, yes. You’re not only going to see it around Central Texas, but you’re going to see it around Texas,” said Juan Rivera, President of Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce Central Texas.
Seeing that massive growth in GDP is a good sign that the economy is bouncing back but, it’s only part of the equation.
”Inflation is still a concern. We’ll see how it goes over the next 6-months and see if we can get through some of that as well.” said Dr. Tennant.
Though inflation can make them more money, business owners know it is hitting their customers the hardest.
”I just feel sorry for the low-income people that are suffering because they don’t have enough to pay for the products they are used to and they have to adapt to it in ways they’ve never seen before.” said Rivera.
While it may seem like the economy is bouncing back, and in many ways it is, we’re not out of the woods just yet.
”We have to look at, by fall, if we truly are getting on the other side of pandemic numbers.” said Dr. Tennant.
With issues still slowing down supply chains, businesses are having to pay more. And that cost gets passed down to the consumer leading experts to believe that we will face inflation for months if not longer.
