Second Quarter 2006- The Economy and Small Business
Trends
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• The American economy moderated its growth in the second quarter of 2006, growing 2.5 percent, down from 5.6 percent in the first
quarter.
• Overall business and consumer confidence has fallen, according to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Optimism
Index and the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Survey.
• The unemployment rate in May and June 2006 was 4.6 percent, the lowest rate in five years.
• Interest rates continued to rise, with the prime rate averaging 7.9 percent in the second quarter of 2006, up a half percent from the first
quarter.
• Core consumer inflation, which excludes energy costs, increased an annualized 3.4 percent during the quarter.
Get the full report from the SBA office of Advocacy-
Quarterly Indicators: The Economy and Small Business