Are recent US economic conditions similar to the stagflation of the 1970s?
By Gabriel Vinocur
View this fact brief on EconoFact
Copy link
Copy featured image
NO
Economic conditions in the 1970s were significantly worse than today’s.
Stagflation is persistent high inflation combined with low growth in national income and high unemployment. This situation characterized the U.S. and other industrial countries for much of the 1970s.
Averages for these markers from 1974 to 1975 as compared to those in 2023 through the first quarter of 2024 were:
- Inflation: 10.1% versus 4.0%.
- Unemployment: 7.1% versus 3.7%.
- Real GDP growth: -0.4% versus 2.6%.
Between January 2023 and April 2024, inflation decreased while GDP growth rose and unemployment stayed stable.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Google Sheets FRED Data
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
EconoFact is a non-partisan publication designed to bring key facts and incisive analysis to the national debate on economic and social policies. Launched in January 2017, it is written by leading academic economists from across the country who belong to the EconoFact Network. It is published by the Edward R. Murrow Center for a Digital World at The Fletcher School at Tufts University.
