Ten Year Economic Data

It's been a decade since our economy was in the crapper.  Things have gotten a lot better since then, but by how much?  And is that improvement picking up, slowing down, or staying steady?

Let's look at the important dimensions of:

1. Are people working?  (unemployment rate)
2. How much are they being paid? (hourly wages)
3. What's the monetary value of what we are producing? (GDP)
4. How much are we borrowing to make this all work? (debt)

Unemployment rate

Got bad in 2009, then ticking down steadily since 2010

Average hourly wages

Ticking up steadily the whole time

GDP

Fell in 2008/2009, then ticking up steadily

government debt

Couple nice flat spots in 2015 and 2017, but the trend is up up up.  Sorry kids, you'll pay it back some day.