Today, unemployment is 4.4 percent and it has been under 6 percent for the last four years. The economy has generated nearly 18 million new jobs over the last six years, and inflation has remained low. And wages are rising B across all income levels. A number of factors have contributed to this strong economy including, very centrally, the private sector regaining its competitive edge over the last decade, and the President's broad based economic strategy of fiscal discipline, investing in people, and opening markets. And that last point B expanding trade, to which this Administration has been firmly committed and for which this Committee has been the keeper of the flame B has clearly played a major role.
Jobs related to exports pay on average higher wages than other jobs.
Opening markets and expanding exports are therefore of great importance to our nation's prosperity and our ability to create high wage jobs. Less widely recognized is that imports, too, contribute greatly to our economic well being. It is interesting to compare our economic performance of the last six years with the economic performance of other industrialized nations that are less open. Study after study has shown that more open economies enjoy stronger growth, and that is certainly evident here. We have low unemployment, rising wages across the board B and we have the most open markets among the major economies.