1984 U.S. Economic Data

U.S. Unemployment Rate Percentages
1984 01 8.0%
1984 02 7.8
1984 03 7.8
1984 04 7.7
1984 05 7.4
1984 06 7.2
1984 07 7•5
1984 08 7.5
1984 09 7•3
1984 10 7•4
1984 11 7.2
1984 12 7•3

NASDAQ closing prices for each month in 1984
1984 01 268.43
1984 02 252•57
1984 03 250.78
1984 04 247.44
1984 05 232.82
1984 06 239.65
1984 07 229•70
1984 08 254.64
1984 09 249•94
1984 10 247.00
1984 11 242.40
1984 12 247.10

CPI
1984 01 102•5
1984 02 102•8
1984 03 103.2
1984 04 103•7
1984 05 104.1
1984 06 104•5
1984 07 105•0
1984 08 105•4
1984 09 105.8
1984 10 106.2
1984 11 106•4
1984 12 106•8
Consumer Price Index: –noun
an index of the changes in the cost of goods and services to a typical consumer, based on the costs of the same goods and services at a base period. Abbreviation: CPI

Total Population: All Ages including Armed Forces Overseas *thousands
1984 01 235385*
1984 02 235527*
1984 03 235675*
1984 04 235839*
1984 05 235993*
1984 06 236160*
1984 07 236348*
1984 08 236549*
1984 09 236760*
1984 10 236976*
1984 11 237159*
1984 12 237316*
* = thousands

Average Price of Houses Sold, including land prices
1984 01 $76,200
1984 02 79200
1984 03 78400
1984 04 79600
1984 05 81400
1984 06 80500
1984 07 80700
1984 08 82000
1984 09 81300
1984 10 80100
1984 11 82500
1984 12 78300

Personal Saving Rate Percentages
1984 01 9•8 %
198403 10•6
1984 04 10•8
1984 05 10•5
1984 06 10.6
1984 07 11•4
1984 08 11•3
1984 09 11.2
1984 10 11•4
1984 11 10•6
1984 12 11•0

U.S. Retail Sales, Total, *Millions of Dollars

1984 01 105065*
1984 02 104941*
1984 03 104203*
1984 04 106137*
1984 05 106830*
1984 06 108358*
1984 07 106655*
1984 08 106064*
1984 09 107569*
1984 10 108090*
1984 11 110153*
1984 12 109688*

Gasoline Prices , U.S. City Average Retail Price ( Tenth Cents per Gallon*)
1984 01 120•0
1984 02 119.3
1984 03 119.4
1984 04 121.1
1984 05 122•1
1984 06 121.4
1984 07 119.7
1984 08 118.4
1984 09 118.9
1984 10 119•5
1984 11 119.3
1984 12 117.9
* i.e. 117.9 = $1.179

Interest Rates in 1984
1984 01 11.00
1984 02 11.00
1984 03 11.21
1984 04 11•93
1984 05 12•39
1984 06 12•60
1984 07 13.00
1984 08 13•00
1984 09 12•97
1984 10 12•58
1984 11 11•77
1984 12 11•06

Price Points
Cost of a new home:
$97,600.00
Median Household Income:
$22,415.00
Cost of a first-class stamp:
$0.20
Cost of a gallon of regular gas:
$1.21
Cost of a dozen eggs:
$1.01
Cost of a gallon of Milk:
$2.26

Synthesis
The economy was recovering and on the rise again in 1984. Although it wasn't at its best, people started spending more because they felt it was getting better, this is similar to the "wealth effect" discussed by Dr. Hector Saez in lecture on 9/29/08. Unemployment rates went down from 8.0% to 7.3% over the year of 1984 and were down to 6.6 by the end of 1986. So in 1984 they were probably forcasting retail sales to go up and consumer spending to rise as well, since more people were working. This means that designers could be a little bit riskier and still be successful, because consumers felt safer finacially. However, as the statistics for the NASDAQ show, the stock markets were slightly declining still, so consumers weren't experiencing a true "wealth effect" which is when they feel richer because the stock market is going up, even though they don't actually have more money.

Interest rates in 1984 were almost double of what they are in 2008 and Personal Saving rates were more than double in 1984 than what they are in 2008.

References
http://www.economagic.com/em-cgi/data.exe/feddal/ru

“consumer price index." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 13 Oct. 2008. .