White House report: U.S. economy beat projections again in 2018

March 19 (UPI) -- The U.S. economy has outpaced expectations for the second consecutive year and shaken off fears of a global recession, the White House Council of Economic Advisers said in a report Tuesday.

The council's annual mandated report showed real gross domestic product grew last year beyond the administration's own predictions. Over the same time, unemployment fell to a near 50-year low of 3.7 percent as the economy created an average of 223,000 jobs per month.

Tyler Goodspeed, the council's chief economist for macroeconomic policy, told reporters in a conference call Tuesday the administration's tax cuts help spur venture capital deals and capital spending.

Councilor Richard Burkhauser, a professor of policy analysis at Cornell University, said part of the employment surge is seen in manufacturing jobs. As of last month, he said, the domestic economy was 301,000 jobs above trend in global goods manufacturing, which he said is the "heart of blue collar employment."

Chief economist Casey Mulligan said the administration's efforts to deregulate Obama-era economic policies have lowered the costs of companies doing business and the prices of consumer goods. Mulligan added that cuts in oil regulations have helped the United States surpass Saudi Arabia in production -- and slashing red tape has helped generic drug companies better compete against the pharmaceutical majors.

"Some folks have said, 'Oh, we've had 3 percent growth, but that was a sugar high,'" chairman Kevin Hassett said. "We actually cut taxes to encourage people to build new factories.

"We got new factories last year and we're going to get more new factories this year but we're also going to get the output from those factories from last year."

While the U.S. economy saw a dramatic spike in new jobs in January, February numbers were well below expectations. Ongoing trade conflicts between the United States and China have also caused certain economic troubles, experts say.

Tuesday's annual report is required by law and its purpose is give federal lawmakers "timely and authoritative information" on economic developments and trends. The council advises the president on economic policy.