Charts from CBO's Budget and Economic Outlook: An Update
1. Deficit Assuming Continuation of Certain Policies Under CBO’s baseline assumptions,
deficits would drop from 8.5 percent of
(Percentage of GDP)
GDP this year to 1.2 percent of GDP in
2021. However, deficits would not fall as
far if certain policies were continued.
CBO estimates that the deficit would be
4.7 percent of GDP if those policies
remained in place.
10
8.5%
8
6.4%
6
4.8% 4.5% 4.7%
4.0% 3.9% 4.3%
4 3.8% 3.5% 3.9%
2
0
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Baseline Extend Tax Policies Maintain Medicare’s Payment Additional Debt Service
Rates for Physicians
Source: Congressional Budget Office.
Note: “Extend Tax Policies” reflects the following policy assumptions: Most of the provisions in the 2010 tax act that were originally enacted in 2001, 2003, 2009, and 2010 are
extended (instead of being allowed to expire on December 31, 2012, as scheduled), and the alternative minimum tax is indexed for inflation. “Maintain Medicare’s payment
Rates for Physicians” involves preventing the nearly 30 percent reduction in Medicare’s payment rates for physicians’ services that is scheduled to take e ect at the end of 2011.
“Additional Debt Service” is the amount of interest payments on the additional debt issued to the public that would result from the continuation of the specified policies.
2. Federal Debt Held by the Public With modest deficits projected for the latter part of the
2012–2021 period under CBO’s current-law baseline, debt held by
(Percentage of GDP)
the public recedes as a percentage of GDP. However, if certain
provisions that are part of current law did not expire as scheduled,
120 debt held by the public would rise to 82 percent of GDP by the end
of 2021, which would be the highest level since 1948.
Actual Projected
100
Continuation of
80 Certain Policies
60 CBO’s Baseline
40
20
0
1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Source: Congressional Budget Office.
Note: The projected debt with the continuation of certain policies is based on several assumptions: rst, that most of the provisions of the Tax Relief, Unemployment
Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 that originally were enacted in 2001, 2003, 2009, and 2010 do not expire on December 31, 2012, but instead
continue; second, that the alternative minimum tax is indexed for inflation after 2011; and third, that Medicare’s payment rates for physicians are held constant at their
2011 level. Shaded bars indicate periods of recession.
3. Total Deficits or Surpluses If some of the changes specified in current law did not occur and certain
(Percentage of GDP) current policies were continued instead, then annual deficits from 2012
through 2021 would be much higher—averaging 4.3 percent of GDP,
compared with 1.8 percent in CBO’s baseline projections.
4
2.4%
2 2000
Actual Projected
0 CBO’s Baseline
-2
-4 Continuation of
-3.5% Certain Policies
-4.2% 2004
1976 -4.7%
-6 1992
-6.0%
1983
-8
-10
-10.0%
2009
-12
1971 1975 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019
Source: Congressional Budget Office.
Note: The projected deficit with the continuation of certain policies is based on several assumptions: rst, that most of the provisions of the Tax Relief, Unemployment
Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 that originally were enacted in 2001, 2003, 2009, and 2010 do not expire on December 31, 2012, but instead
continue; second, that the alternative minimum tax is indexed for inflation after 2011; and third, that Medicare’s payment rates for physicians are held constant at their
2011 level.
4. Total Discretionary Budget If discretionary budget authority was allowed to grow at the
rate of inflation, without the constraint on nonwar funding
Authority Excluding War Funding imposed by the caps established in the Budget Control Act,
(Percentage of GDP)
that budget authority would be about 4 percent higher
in 2012 and 8 percent higher in 2021.
12
Actual Projected
10
8
Funding for 2011
Adjusted for Inflationa
6
CBO’s Baselineb
4
2
0
1986 1991 1996 2001 2006 2011 2016 2021
Source: Congressional Budget Office.
a
Data reflect the assumption that discretionary funding related to federal personnel is inflated using the employment cost index for wages and salaries. All other
discretionary funding is adjusted using the gross domestic product price index.
b
When constructing its baseline, CBO assumes that discretionary funding will adhere to the statutory caps recently enacted into law by the Budget Control Act of 2011.
5. Real Gross Domestic Product CBO expects that the economic recovery will
(Trillions of 2005 dollars, logarithmic scale) continue but that real (inflation-adjusted)
GDP will stay below the economy’s
potential—a level that corresponds to a high
rate of use of labor and capital—until 2017.
19 Actual Projected
18
17 Potential GDP
16
15
14 GDP
13
12
11
10
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020
2020
Sources: Congressional Budget Office; Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Notes: Real gross domestic product is the output of the economy adjusted to remove the e ects of inflation. Potential GDP is CBO’s estimate of the output that the
economy would produce with a high rate of use of its labor and capital resources. Data are quarterly. Actual data for GDP, which are plotted through the second quarter
of 2011, incorporate the July 2011 revisions of the national income and product accounts. Projections of GDP, which are plotted through the fourth quarter of 2021, are
based on data issued before the revisions. Shaded bars indicate periods of recession.
6. Ratio of GDP to Potential GDP CBO projects that GDP will grow considerably
(Percent) faster than potential GDP between 2013 and
2016. That growth will bring the economy to a
high rate of resource use—completely closing
the gap between the economy’s actual and
4
potential output—by 2017.
2 Actual Projected
0
-2
-4
-6
-8
-10
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020
Sources: Congressional Budget Office; Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Notes: Real gross domestic product is the output of the economy adjusted to remove the e ects of inflation. Potential GDP is CBO’s estimate of the output that the
economy would produce with a high rate of use of its labor and capital resources. Data are quarterly. Actual data for GDP, which are plotted through the second quarter
of 2011, incorporate the July 2011 revisions of the national income and product accounts. Projections of GDP, which are plotted through the fourth quarter of 2021, are
based on data issued before the revisions.
7. Unemployment Rate With the projection of modest growth in output, CBO expects
(Percent) employment to expand slowly during the rest of this year and
next year. The unemployment rate is projected to fall from an
average of 9.1 percent in the second quarter of 2011 to
8.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 and to
8.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012.
12
Actual Projected
10
8
6
4
2
0
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020
Sources: Congressional Budget Office; Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Notes: The unemployment rate is a measure of the number of jobless people who are available for work and are actively seeking jobs, expressed as a percentage of the
labor force. Data are quarterly. Actual data are plotted through the second quarter of 2011; projections are plotted through the fourth quarter of 2021.
8. Interest Rates Consistent with its forecast of modest economic
(Percent) growth through 2013 under current law, CBO
projects that interest rates will remain very low for
the next few years and then rise to more-normal
levels as output approaches its potential in 2017.
16
Actual Projected
14
12
11.1%
10
8.6%
8
8.4%
6.0%
6
5.9% 5.3%
5.8% 10-Year Treasury Notes
4 5.8% 3.3% 3-Month Treasury Bills
4.0%
4.0%
3.0%
2
1.0% 0.1%
0
1983 1987 1993 2000 2003 2011 2017
Sources: Congressional Budget Office; Federal Reserve.
Notes: Data are annual. Actual data are plotted through 2010; projections are plotted through 2021.
9. House Prices House prices are nearing the end of their decline, in
(Index, 1991 = 100) CBO’s estimation. But they probably will not begin a
sustained increase until the second half of 2012, when
CBO expects there to be fewer foreclosures and
distressed sales. CBO projects that by the end of 2013,
house prices as measured by the S&P/Case-Shiller
300
index will be back to 2003 levels.
250
Actual Projected
200
150
100
50
0
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020
Sources: Congressional Budget Office; Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Financial Services.
Notes: The S&P/Case-Shiller national home price index tracks the prices of home sales financed using mortgages purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac as well as
sales financed with mortgages that do not conform to the size or credit criteria for purchase by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Values shown are annual averages of quarterly data.
Actual data are plotted through 2010; projections are plotted through 2021.
10. Vacant Housing Units The recovery of the housing market is likely to be slowed by the fact that an
unusually large percentage of housing units are now vacant. That percentage,
(Percentage of total units)
which was already high before the 2007–2009 recession because of overbuilding
during the housing boom, partly reflects the large number of foreclosures and
continued slow pace of household formation since the end of the recession.
15
14.3%
14
13
12.7%
12 11.8%
11.6%
11.2% 11.2%
11.0%
11
10.4% 10.5%
10.0%
10
9
8
1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Sources: Congressional Budget Office; Department of Commerce, Census Bureau.
Notes: Housing units comprise occupied units and vacant units, including units intended for year-round use and seasonal units.
Values are annual averages of quarterly data.
11. Net Business Fixed Investment Investment by businesses declined sharply during the
recession, and although it picked up a bit relative to GDP in
(Percentage of GDP)
2010, it remained well below its long-run historical average.
The growth in GDP that CBO has projected for the near term
will encourage businesses to boost net fixed investment to
5 Actual meet increases in demand for their products.
4.6% 4.7%
4.4% 4.5%
4.1%
4 Projected
3.5% 3.4% 3.4%
3.0% 3.1% 3.1%
3
2.7%
2.3% 2.4%
2
1 1.0%
0
1980
1985
1955
1960
1965
1970
1975
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
1950
Sources: Congressional Budget Office; Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Notes: Business fixed investment consists of businesses’ spending on nonresidential structures, equipment, and software. It is shown here net of depreciation. Data are annual.
Actual data incorporate the July 2011 revisions to the national income and product accounts; projections are based on data issued before the revisions.
12. Exchange Value of the U.S. Dollar The trade-weighted exchange value of the dollar
declined for most of the past decade, as foreign
(Index, March 1973 = 100)
investors became less willing to keep adding to
their increasingly large holdings of U.S. dollar assets.
130
CBO expects that decline to continue at a moderate
pace, on average, over the next 10 years.
120
110
100
90
80
70
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Sources: Congressional Budget Office; Federal Reserve.
Notes: This index is an average of the U.S. dollar’s exchange value against the currencies of a large group of major U.S. trading partners, adjusted for inflation and weighted by the
amount of trade the United States conducts with each of those countries. The index weights change over time. Data are monthly and are plotted through July 2011. Tan lines
represent a year’s worth of values; light blue bars represent the annual average.
13. Net Job Growth per Month Labor market conditions deteriorated
(Thousands of jobs) dramatically during the recent recession, and
despite a modest recovery in job growth
beginning in early 2010, employment remains
400
well below its prerecession level.
200
0
-200
-400
-600
-800
-1,000
January July January July January July January July January July
2007 2007 2008 2008 2009 2009 2010 2010 2011 2011
Sources: Congressional Budget Office; Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Notes: Data are monthly and are plotted through July 2011. They exclude temporary jobs associated with the 2010 census.
14. Labor Force Participation Rate The labor force participation rate has fallen
significantly in the past decade. Although economic
(Percent)
recovery will increase the demand for labor, CBO expects
that rate to continue to decline as the aging of the baby
boomers and tax increases scheduled under current law
prompt more people to leave the labor force.
1970
60.4%
1980
63.8%
1990
66.5%
2000
67.1%
2010
64.7%
2020
63.0%
55% 60% 65%
Sources: Congressional Budget Office; Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Notes: The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the civilian noninstitutionalized population age 16 or older that is either working or actively looking for work.
Values are annual averages of quarterly data.
15. Unemployed Workers per Job Opening The number of unemployed workers per job opening
averaged about 4½ in the first half of 2011—down
(Number)
from an average of more than 6 in 2009 but still much
higher than before the recent recession.
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Sources: Congressional Budget Office; Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Notes: Data are monthly and are plotted through June 2011. Shaded bars indicate periods of recession.
16. Inflation Although inflation increased in the first half of
2011, CBO projects that it will recede somewhat
(Percentage change in prices from previous year)
in the second half and that prices will rise at a
subdued pace over the next few years.
12
Actual Projected
10
8
6
Overall
4
Core
2
0
-2
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020
Sources: Congressional Budget Office; Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Notes: The overall inflation rate is based on the price index for personal consumption expenditures; the core rate excludes prices for food and energy. Data are quarterly.
Actual data, which are plotted through the second quarter of 2011, incorporate the July 2011 revisions of the national income and product accounts. Projections, which
are plotted through the fourth quarter of 2021, are based on data issued before the revisions.
17. Crude Oil Prices A key reason for the increase in inflation earlier this year was a spike in the
(Dollars per barrel) price of oil, which rose from an average of about $75 per barrel last summer to
more than $110 in late April, partly because of political uncertainty and supply
disruptions in the Middle East and North Africa. The benchmark price of crude
oil fell back below $100 at the end of June and has declined further since then.
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
September September September September September September September August
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Sources: Congressional Budget Office; Bloomberg.
Notes: The price shown is the spot price of the West Texas Intermediate grade of crude oil delivered at Cushing, Oklahoma. Data are prices at the end of each week and are
plotted through August 12, 2011.
18. Labor Income Labor income has fallen sharply as a share of gross domestic
(Percentage of gross domestic income) income since 2009—well below its share during most of the past
30 years. In CBO’s projections, labor income grows faster than GDI
over the next decade, bringing its share from about 60 percent of
65
GDI in early 2011 to about 61 percent by 2021.
Actual Projected
64
63.2%
2001 Q1
63 62.9%
1992 Q3
62
61.3%
61 1984 Q4
60.6%
1997 Q3
60
60.0%
2006 Q3
59.4%
2010 Q1
59
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020
Sources: Congressional Budget Office; Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Notes: Labor income is defined here as labor compensation plus 65 percent of proprietors’ income. Gross domestic income is the sum of all income earned in the
production of gross domestic product. Data are quarterly. Actual data, which are plotted through the first quarter of 2011, incorporate the July 2011 revisions of the
national income and product accounts. Projections, which are plotted through the fourth quarter of 2021, are based on data issued before the revisions.
19. Stock Prices Stock prices, as measured by the value of the
(Index, 1941–1943 = 10) S&P 500 index, dropped by more than
15 percent between early July and mid-August
2011, returning to their level of late 2010.
1,600
1,400
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
0
January 2007 January 2008 January 2009 January 2010 January 2011
Sources: Congressional Budget Office; Bloomberg.
Notes: The Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 index includes the prices of actively traded common stocks of 500 leading companies in key industries of the U.S. economy.
Data are monthly; the value for August 2011 runs through August 19. The span of each line reflects the high and low index values for that month.