Assignment: The State of the Macro Economy

This table shows U.S. economic indicators for a five-year period. All variables are measured in percent.

Table 1. U.S. Economic Indicators for a Five Year Period  
GDP Growth Inflation Unemployment
2.5 2.1 5.6
3.7 1.9 5.4
4.5 1.8 4.9
4.4 1.1 4.5
4.8 1.5 4.2

How would you characterize the state of the economy over this time period and especially in the final year shown? What do you expect will happen in subsequent years? Please explain your reasoning in detail.

Rubric

Criteria Not Evident Developing Proficient Distinguished Weight
Assess the state of the economy based on the data for the GDP Growth indicator 5
Assess the state of the economy based on the data for the Inflation indicator 5
Assess the state of the economy based on the data for the Unemployment indicator 5
Predict what will happen in subsequent years based on the data for all three indicators 4
Articulation of response (citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas.) 1
Total: 20