The global economy is projected to expand 2.8 percent in 2019, less than in recent years due to weaker momentum in developed economies and China.
However, the overall global labor market should remain tight once again with around half (25 of the 49) countries analyzed in this report showing unemployment levels of 5.0 percent or less. This is considered by many economists as at or near full employment, and is about the same as Q1 2019 findings.
Of the 49 countries analyzed in this report, 25 of them reported decreases in national unemployment rates since Q1 2019 in this quarter, while 12 reported increases. The remaining 12 went unchanged.
Within the United States, stocks finished their best half in over 2 decades as the S&P 500 closed up 17 percent for the first quarter of 2019, while The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 14 points in the first quarter. Overall, unemployment remained at a low 3.7 percent.
