Strong 1984 Economy Painted by Numbers - January 1985

Statistics released during January established that 1984 had been a very good year for the American economy. Data released on January 4, showed that sales of automobiles in the United States had risen 13.1 percent in 1984. The total of 10,358,166 cars was the highest since 1979. Some 76 percent of these were produced in the United States. The Labor Department said, January 9, that unemployment had edged upward in December to 7.1 percent from 7.0 percent in November. The Labor Department reported, January 11, that the prices paid by producers for finished goods rose only 1.8 percent in 1984. Continuing a trend, major banks again cut their prime rate, January 14, this time to 10.75 percent; the rate stood at its lowest point since August 1983. The Commerce Department reported, January 17, that construction in 1984 on 1.74M housing units, a 2.4 percent increase over 1983. The Department said, January 22, that the nation's real gross national product had increased 6.8 percent in 1984, the highest rate of gain since 1951. The Labor Department said, January 23, that the consumer price index had risen by only 4 percent in 1984, the third consecutive year of relatively low inflation. Worker productivity, a key factor in controlling inflation, rose 3.1 percent in 1983, the Labor Department reported, January 29. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at an all-time high of 1292.62 on January 29. On the dark side, the Commerce Department said, January 30, that the U.S. trade deficit stood at $123.3B in 1984, far above the previous record of $69.4B reported in 1983. The Department said, January 31, that the index of leading economic indicators had edged downward by 0.2 percent in December.