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BOOM: Small Business Index Soars to Highest Level Since Reagan, Middle-Class Income Sets New Record

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Several new reports are providing the latest proof that the US economy is booming right now.
 
One new report shows small business optimism at the highest rate in nearly 45 years, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.
 
The report comes as President Trump has pushed for tax cuts and deregulation efforts. The result is more sales, hiring, and investments.
 
The optimism for the small business index broke the previous record set during the second year of Ronald Reagan's presidency.
 
The Index jumped to 108.8 last month, the highest level ever. The previous record was 108 in 1983. The August 2018 figure was up from a 107.9 reading in July.
 
"Today's groundbreaking numbers are demonstrative of what I'm hearing every day from small business owners – that business is booming," said NFIB President and CEO Juanita D. Duggan, in a press release Tuesday. "As the tax and regulatory landscape changed, so did small business expectations and plans."
 
Meanwhile, the US Census Bureau is reporting some good news about middle-class income too. Average Americans made a record high income of $61,373 in 2017.
 
The bureau reports, "This is the third consecutive annual increase in median household income." And as income is rising and the economy is booming, the national poverty rate is also dropping.
The Census report also reveals that the number of people with jobs rose by 1.7 million. And the number of workers with full-time permanent jobs increased by 2.4 million. 

The creation of those full-time permanent jobs helps to resolve one of the biggest problems that plagued the economy for 8 years after the recession ended in 2009. For nearly a decade, many part-time workers who wanted full-time jobs were unable to find them.

 

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