The recent proclamation of the recession being over seems dubious at best, as numerous sectors are still depressed. Technically speaking, a recession ends when the economy stops shrinking. That said, economic sectors like employment, family prosperity and real estate are still depressed. The value of assets minus the amount of owed debt is how household wealth, or net worth, is determined. Assets are every little thing a person owns. The whole of all charge cards, unsecured loans, or debt is subtracted from the entire value of assets. It is easy to calculate, once all the particulars are figured out. Net worth is almost at an all time low.
Not so good news for family prosperity
The last few years have taken a toll on the economy, including household wealth. The summer has not been good to numerous individuals. Family wealth took a severe tumble. Household wealth, according to CNN, dropped 2.8 percent. The data is compiled by the Federal Reserve. Over $1.5 trillion of instant money disappeared. Most of the evaporated value was held in stocks, mutual funds and retirement savings. The bulk of losses occurred in stock markets. Individual stocks overall lost $912 billion over the summer.
The small housing market that could
Employment and housing are still the largest problem areas. The real estate market had the bottom fall out. That said, it is working its way back up. Real estate values have increased by $46 billion. However, this is an improvement of .3 percent. That said, it does not make up for the losses. Between 2007 and 2009, housing as an industry lost $17 trillion. It seems housing and employment are the areas that really need extra cash, however those statistics have not seemed to benefit at all from the money advanced from stimulus programs.
Recuperation at a snails’ speed
A lot of economic news seems bad. There is some good news though. All isn’t lost, by a long shot. According to USA Today, stocks are already rebounding and regaining value. A double dip recession does not seem likely, as slow however steady recovery is expected.
Additional reading
CNN
money.cnn.com/2010/09/17/news/economy/household_net_worth/index.htm
USA Today
usatoday.com/money/economy/2010-09-17-net-worth_N.htm
