Manufacturers have reported record high levels of positive economic outlook as a result of the GOP tax cuts. This good news comes from data collected by The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) in their 2018 Second Quarter Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey.
Due to the improved economic conditions that tax reform created, 95.1 percent of manufacturers reported a positive outlook for their companies and the economy, the highest percentage in 20 years.
The benefits of the tax reform do not end there. In just six months, tax reform has doubled the number of manufacturing jobs created compared to last year – 115,000 jobs have been created to date in 2018, compared to 63,000 jobs in the same period last year.
Tax reform has also led to significant increases in new investment, jobs, and wages and other employee benefits:
· 86% of manufacturers plan to increase investments
· 77% of manufacturers plan to increase hiring
· 72% of manufacturers plan to increase wages or benefits
The success of tax reform is not limited to one industry, but is being felt across the entire economy. Other surveys have reported similarly positive economic news. For instance, the latest Small Business Optimism Index rose to 107.8 percent, the second highest in the history of the survey. This study, released by the National Federation for Independent Business, also found that employee compensation has hit a record 45-year high.
Similarly, the RSM Middle Market Business Index reported a record breaking score of 136.7. Roughly 60 percent of businesses plan to hire more workers and increase wages in the second or third quarter of 2018, while half of businesses have already increased hiring and increased wages in 2018.
This good economic news is not just hypothetical, it is playing out in the real world. In the six months since its enactment, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has vastly improved the American economy. More than one million jobs have been created in the first five months of 2018, workers are seeing bigger paychecks, retirement security is improving, and families are finally seeing relief from the destructive Obamacare individual mandate.
Capital investment is up 24 percent, a record for the first quarter of the year. Unemployment is the lowest that it has been since 2001 at 3.4 percent and in the past year the economy has grown annually at a rate of 2.9 percent, compared to just 2 percent under President Obama.
Even though the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is only six months old, the law is already a success. The bill has resulted in a stronger economy, higher wages, created more jobs, and increased investment.