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In 1980, the American standard of living was the highest among the industrial countries, according to the OECD. Out of the 85 million households in the United States, 64% owned their own living quarters, 55% had at least two TV sets, and 51% had more than one vehicle.
From 1972 to 1978, industrial productivity increased by only 1% a year (compared with an average growth rate of 3.2% from 1948 to 1955), while the standard of living in the United States fell to fifth in the world, with Denmark, West Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland surging ahead. [51]
As a result of the postwar economic boom, 60% of the American population had attained a "middle-class" standard of living by the mid-1950s (defined as incomes of $3,000 to $10,000 in constant dollars), compared with only 31% in the last year of prosperity before the onset of the Great Depression in 1929.
In 1980 the middle class earned 17% of total income in the United States. [ 291 ] [ 292 ] [ 293 ] However, by 2019 its share decreased to 14%, a drop of 3%. Another way to see this is that in 1980 the share of the middle class was the same as that of the top 5% but by 2019 the top 5% was 9 percentage points ahead of the middle class.
The economic history of the United States spans the colonial era through the 21st century. The initial settlements depended on agriculture and hunting/trapping, later adding international trade, manufacturing, and finally, services, to the point where agriculture represented less than 2% of GDP .
Jewish women played a significant role in the American labor movement of the 20th century. Jewish mass immigration came to the United States in the early twentieth century, just as the ready-made clothing industry skyrocketed. In the Old Country, most Jewish women were married off as quickly as possible; in America, that was no longer an option.
Image credits: Old-time Photos To learn more about the fascinating world of photography from the past, we got in touch with Ed Padmore, founder of Vintage Photo Lab.Ed was kind enough to have a ...
A 2008 study showed that economic mobility in the U.S. increased from 1950 to 1980, but has declined sharply since 1980. [12] A 2012 study conducted by the Pew Charitable Trusts found that the bottom quintile is 57% likely to experience upward mobility and only 7% to experience downward mobility. [ 13 ]