Although growth in U.S. GDP per capita has been slower over the current business cycle than in earlier periods (see "GDP and GDP Per Capita" above), U.S. growth has exceeded growth in G-7 developed economies and is well above the growth in other key nations. As a result, U.S. GDP per capita remains amongst the highest in the world.

Real GDP per capita and real median personal income provide two different perspectives on the impact of economic growth.

Real GDP per capita spreads total production across the entire population equally.

Alternatively, real median equivalized personal income—that is, adjusted for household size—provides an inflation-adjusted measure of total income received by the "middle" income household, whose income is below 50 percent of households and above the other 50 percent of households.

Real median personal income is a more appropriate gauge of how the U.S. economic pie is distributed because it focuses on how income accrues to households rather than on GDP, which is a measure of production.

BEA recently released official estimates for real median equivalized personal income for 2007–2018. During this period, real median personal income grew 0.9 percent per year, the same growth as in real GDP per capita.

One driver of the changing distribution of income is the movement in the share of labor income relative to capital income. After reaching 63 percent in 1970, labor's share of income has generally declined, and in 2019 stood at about 58 percent. Capital's share of income increased from 37 percent in 1970 to about 42 percent in 2019.

Another key measure of the economic well-being of a nation is its wealth. Wealth increases economic welfare by supplementing income for large purchases, unemployment, emergencies, retirement, education, and bequests to heirs.

Since 1960, household wealth—measured by net worth (that is, household assets less liabilities)—has risen every year except for in 2008 during the Great Recession.

In addition, the ratio of household net worth to disposable personal income (DPI) indicates whether growth in saving, and hence wealth, is keeping up with growth in incomes and households' retirement income requirements.

Inflation, especially high and variable rates of inflation, can affect economic well-being, including eroding the real income and purchasing power of those on fixed incomes and more generally transferring income from debtors to creditors.

After a period of deflation during the Great Depression, inflation peaked in the immediate post-WWII era and later in the 1970s and 1980s. Since the mid-1990s, inflation has remained in the 2 percent range, low by historical standards.

Employment data are among the economic indicators most closely watched by households.

After rising to nearly 10 percent during the "Great Recession," unemployment—perhaps the best-known employment indicator—has fallen steadily to 3.7 percent in 2019 and is lower than the pre-recession mark of 4.6 percent.

In addition, two of the broader-based employment indicators, which are not affected by changes in labor force participation rates, have been rising. The overall (FTE) employment rate has risen and is nearing its pre-recession peak, and the prime age workers' employment rate is higher than before the recession.

The economic experience across industries varies significantly. During the most recent business cycle (from 2007Q4 to 2019Q4), real GDP grew at a 1.7 percent annual rate. Changes by industry ranged from a 1.0 percent decline in nondurable goods manufacturing to a 4.9 percent increase in information industries.

While figures on GDP, employment, and inflation for the nation dominate news coverage, the economic experience across the country varies considerably. During the most recent business cycle (calculated with annual data available from 2008 through 2018), real personal income per capita grew at an average annual rate of 1.5 percent, with Oklahoma growing by 0.4 percent and California growing by 2.2 percent. Similarly, in 2018, real personal income per capita for the nation ranged from $42,456 in Mississippi to $65,489 in Connecticut.

International trade is an important factor in economic growth. By allowing for specialization across nations and raising productivity, trade yields higher growth and standards of living.

Between 1948 and 2019, overall U.S. trade (exports plus imports) as a percentage of GDP grew from about 9 percent to over 26 percent. The increased international trade—along with higher quality economic data and better-informed policies and institutions—contributed to an unprecedented period of growth in standards of living in the United States and other developed economies. Since 1948, real GDP per capita quadrupled in the United States.

Until the mid-1970s, the United States had an international trade balance that was usually in surplus. Over time, the U.S. trade balance moved to persistent trade deficits (with deficits on goods more than offsetting surpluses in services). These trade deficits were the result of domestic spending that exceeded domestic production, or its mirror image, low national saving that reflects the higher domestic spending. The lower investment that often accompanies lower saving may slow growth in productivity, the economy, and standards of living, thereby offsetting some of the positive contributions of international trade to economic growth.

One indicator of the long-term impact of U.S. trade deficits is the net amount the nation pays in external debt service, dividends, reinvested earnings, and other investment income to foreign investors relative to its exports. While the "debt service to exports ratio" generally increased from the mid-1970s through the late-1990s and trended downward thereafter, it has been consistently negative, meaning that the United States receives more in foreign investment income than it pays to foreign residents.

Because the U.S. dollar is an international currency, the United States' ability to service foreign debt is not constrained by the supply of currency earned through exports but by its income. Comparing net investment income payments to gross domestic income, shows that the "debt service to income ratio" has remained relatively stable over time.

The movement of U.S. jobs abroad by U.S. companies often is seen as a threat to the long-term growth of the U.S. economy and its ability to produce high-paying domestic jobs. A look at the data shows that most of U.S. multinational companies' employment remains in the United States. For example, in 2018, about 66 percent of U.S. multinationals' employment was in the United States.

The share of foreign employment has risen as large and emerging economies like India and China have expanded their share of world income. However, most employment remains in high- and middle-income countries rather than low-income countries. Growth in foreign employment has been concentrated in middle-income countries.

There are several key indicators used to assess the economic effects of debt burdens. This includes borrowers' ability to service their debt and how borrowing in each period compares with income.

For the federal government, the ability to service debt is measured by the "federal debt service ratio," calculated as federal interest payments divided by gross national income (GNI). Borrowing compared with income is measured using the "federal net borrowing to income ratio," calculated as federal total expenditures less federal total receipts divided by national income.

The federal debt service ratio has remained relatively flat over the last few decades. In addition, while the federal net borrowing to income ratio has been much more volatile, even at its peak in 2009 during the Great Recession, it was not much higher than such debt ratios in the past 50 years and remained significantly below the debt ratios created by the large deficits recorded during WWII and the Great Depression (see "U.S. Budget and the Economy Over Time" above).

Net investment—gross investment less depreciation—is often called sustainable investment. A significant share of gross investment in plant, equipment, and IT goes toward replacing capital that wears out (that is, depreciation). Net investment increases the nation's production capabilities.

Net saving represents the amount of net income that is available to finance net investment; however, net investment can also be financed by borrowing from the rest of the world.

During the post-WWII era, net investment and net saving have been trending down (with the related drags on productivity, growth, and standards of living). The downward trend in net investment has slowed growth in U.S. capital stock and capital services, accounting for a large share of the decline in trend GDP growth (see "Trends in Economic Growth" above).

At 42 quarters, the most recent expansion, running from 2009Q2 to 2019Q4, was the longest and slowest growing post-WWII expansion on record. The current contraction began in February 2020. The average expansion has lasted 22 quarters, and the average recession has lasted 4 quarters. Growth has averaged 4.4 percent during expansions; however, during the last expansion, the economy grew 2.3 percent on average.