In the 22 quarters since early 2008, real personal-consumption expenditure, which accounts for about 70% of US GDP, has grown at an average annual rate of just 1.1%, easily the weakest period of consumer demand in the post-World War II era. That is the main reason why the post-2008 recovery in GDP and employment has been the most anemic on record.
问题依然停留在受危机重创的美国消费者身上。自2008年初至今的22个季度以来，占美国国内生产总值70%左右的实际个人消费支出年均增长率仅为1.1%，无疑成为二战后消费者需求最弱的时期。这也是为何2008年后GDP和就业率复苏是有史以来最为疲弱的主要原因。