#GDP

#GDP

It makes for a weaker starting point, as companies see new opportunities around the corner to use AI to automate their work. It's not a new trend: These sectors showed weak job creation or outright job losses for the last couple of years of the Biden administration. But it is striking that a GDP surge fueled by data center and AI investment hasn't been enough to generate more robust hiring.

Reality check: At the end of July Lutnick posted to X that "the Trump Economy has officially arrived," citing a strong GDP report. Since then, a combination of weak jobs data and hot inflation reports has painted a very different picture of an economy struggling to grow. Just Thursday, the Consumer Price Index showed inflation rising for a fourth consecutive month, while initial jobless claims were the highest in years.

The Economist's formula ranks countries based on various measures of wealth, concluding that there isn't a single richest nation, but several contenders including Switzerland, Singapore, and Norway.

California's economy produced $4.1 trillion in 2024, ranking it as the fourth largest globally, behind only the U.S., China, and Germany.

California's recent rise to the world's fourth-largest economy magnifies a paradox where prestigious GDP figures contrast starkly with the economic struggles of average residents.