markets than the
barriers to entry of foreign firms in US markets. US firms are at or
near the forefront in technological advances, especially in
computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment,
although their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War II.
The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of
a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack the
education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top
and, more and more, fail to get pay raises, health insurance
coverage, and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains
in household income have gone to the top 20% of households. The
years 1994-98 witnessed solid increases in real output, low
inflation rates, and a drop in unemployment to below 5%. Long-term
problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure,
rapidly rising medical costs of an aging population, sizable trade
deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic
groups. The outlook for 1999 is for GDP growth somewhat below
1998's, continued low inflation, and about the same level of
unemployment. Two shadows for 1999 are the severe financial crises
in East Asia and Russia and the exuberant level of stock prices in
relation to corporate earnings.

GDP: purchasing power parity--$8.511 trillion (1998 est.)

GDP--real growth rate: 3.9% (1998 est.)

GDP--per capita: purchasing power parity?$31,500 (1998 est.)

GDP--composition by sector:
agriculture: 2%
industry: 23%
services: 75% (1998 est.)

Population below poverty line: 13% (1997 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.5%
highest 10%: 28.5% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.6% (1998)

Labor force: 137.7 million (includes unemployed) (1998)

Labor force--by occupation: managerial and professional 29.6%,
technical, sales and administrative support 29.3%, services 13.6%,
manufacturing, mining, transportation, and crafts 24.8%, farming,
forestry, and fishing 2.7% (1998)
note: figures exclude the unemployed

Unemployment rate: 4.5% (1998)

Budget:
revenues: $1.722 trillion
expenditures: $1.653 trillion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1998)

Industries: leading industrial power in the world, highly
diversified and technologically advanced; petroleum, steel, motor
vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electr