The “advance” estimate of U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) for the fourth quarter of 2021 grew at a better-than-expected pace, up by 6.9 percent at an annual rate. As a result, real GDP increased by 5.7 percent in 2021, the strongest growth since 1984. The largerthan-expected growth in the fourth quarter was mainly boosted by a replenishment of inventories. Exports also … [Read more...] about Business Indicators
Stephen M. Miller
Business IndicatorsNovember 2021
The “third” estimate of U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2021 expanded 6.7 percent at an annual rate. The strong growth in the second quarter largely reflected a strong surge in consumer spending, which was boosted by significant injections of federal relief money. U.S. nonfarm employment showed a disappointing gain, adding only 194,000 jobs in … [Read more...] about Business Indicators
Business IndicatorsOctober 2021
The “second” estimate of U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2021 grew 6.6 percent at an annual rate, revised up slightly by 0.1 percent from the “advance” estimate. The strong growth in the second quarter largely reflected a strong surge in consumer spending, which was boosted by significant injections of federal relief money. The leisure and … [Read more...] about Business Indicators
Business IndicatorsSeptember 2021
The “advance” estimate of U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2021 grew strongly, but lower-than-expected, at an annual rate of 6.5 percent. As a result, the real GDP has now fully recovered from the COVID pandemic recession and surpassed its pre-pandemic peak. The strong growth largely reflected a 11.8 percent surge in consumer spending, which was … [Read more...] about Business Indicators
Business IndicatorsAugust 2021
The “third” estimate of U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2021 grew strongly by 6.4 percent at an annual rate, remaining unchanged from the “second” estimate. According to more complete source data, an upward revision in business investment, including inventory investment was offset by a downward revision in net exports. Overall, the strong … [Read more...] about Business Indicators
Business IndicatorsJuly 2021
The “second” estimate of U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2020 experienced a strong gain of 6.4 percent at an annual rate, remaining unchanged from the previous estimate. Downward revisions in net exports and private inventory investment offset upward revisions in consumer spending and nonresidential fixed investment. Overall, the strong recovery … [Read more...] about Business Indicators
Business IndicatorsFebruary 2020
The “third” estimate of U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) for the third quarter of 2019 grew at an annual rate of 2.1 percent. Overall, strong consumer spending primarily drove real GDP growth in the third quarter, and weaker business investment and imports slowed real GDP growth. U.S. nonfarm employment added a less-than-expected 145,000 jobs in December. The employment … [Read more...] about Business Indicators
Business IndicatorsNovember 2019
The “third” estimate of U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2019 increased by 2 percent at an annualized rate, unchanged from the “second” estimate. Overall, the slower real GDP growth in the second quarter compared to the first quarter mainly reflected weaker business investment (including inventory investment) and net exports, while strong … [Read more...] about Business Indicators
Business IndicatorsOctober 2019
The “second” estimate of U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2019 grew by 2.0 percent at an annualized rate, down by 0.1 percentage point compared to the “advance” estimate of 2.1 percent. The overall economic picture of economic growth remained the same. Stronger consumer spending, which showed its fastest growth in nearly four years by rising by … [Read more...] about Business Indicators
Business IndicatorsJuly 2019
The “second” estimate of U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2019 was revised down by a 0.1 percentage point to 3.1 percent at an annualized rate compared to the “advance” estimate. The overall picture of economic growth remained the same. The real GDP growth relied largely on temporary factors such as higher private business inventories and reduced … [Read more...] about Business Indicators
Business IndicatorsJune 2019
The “advance” estimate of U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2019 increased unexpectedly by 3.2 percent at an annualized rate. Although the growth rate marked its fastest first quarter increase since 2015, the overall real GDP growth included some temporary factors – reduced imports and higher private business inventories. Thus, the unexpected gain … [Read more...] about Business Indicators
Business IndicatorsJanuary 2019
The “second” estimate of U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) for the third quarter of 2018 increased at an annual rate of 3.5 percent. Based on more complete data compared to last month, business investment, including inventory investment, was revised upward, which was offset by smaller estimates of consumer and state and local government spending growth. The overall picture … [Read more...] about Business Indicators
Business Indicators: December 2018
The “first” estimate of U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) for the third quarter of 2018 increased at an annual rate of 3.5 percent, a 0.7 percentage point drop from the “final” estimate of the second quarter, yet a faster-than-expected growth rate for the third quarter. Overall, positive contributions from personal consumption spending, private inventory investment, … [Read more...] about Business Indicators: December 2018
Business Indicators: November 2018
The “third” estimate of U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2018 increased at an annual rate of 4.2 percent, which remained unchanged from the “second” estimate. The overall picture of GDP growth did not change based on more complete data except that lower-than-expected private inventory investment was offset by small upward movements from most … [Read more...] about Business Indicators: November 2018
Business Indicators: October 2018
The “second” estimate of U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2018 rose at an annual rate of 4.2 percent, up by 0.1 percentage point from the prior estimate. The upward revision reflected larger-than-expected business investment, including inventory investment, which was partly offset by smaller-than-expected consumer spending. Real GDP posted the … [Read more...] about Business Indicators: October 2018
Business Indicators: September 2018
The “advance” estimate for U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2018 expanded by a strong 4.1 percent annualized rate, the fastest pace in almost four years. Consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of real GDP, also grew strongly, which probably reflected somewhat the tax cut. U.S. nonfarm employment added a lower-than-expected 157,000 jobs … [Read more...] about Business Indicators: September 2018
Business Indicators: August 2018
The “third” estimate for U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2018 expanded at a 2.0 percent annualized rate, revised down from the second estimate of 2.2 percent. The downward revisions mainly reflected smaller-than-expected private inventory investment and personal consumption expenditure. U.S. nonfarm employment continued its surprising gain by … [Read more...] about Business Indicators: August 2018
Business Indicators: July 2018
The “second” estimate for U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2018 showed growth at an annual rate of 2.2 percent, down by 0.1 percentage point from the previous estimate of 2.3 percent. The downward revisions reflected smaller private inventory investment, residential fixed investment, and net exports, which were partly offset by a larger … [Read more...] about Business Indicators: July 2018
Business Indicators: June 2018
The “advance” estimate for U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2018 rose at an annual rate of 2.3 percent, a slower pace than the previous three consecutive quarters of about 3 percent. The first quarter real GDP growth, however, exceeded the first-quarter growth in recent years. The increase in real GDP largely reflected a moderate growth in … [Read more...] about Business Indicators: June 2018
Business Indicators: May 2018
The “third” estimate for U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) for the fourth quarter of 2017 increased at an annual rate of 2.9 percent, up by 0.4 percentage point from the previous estimate. U.S. nonfarm employment added a disappointing 103,000 jobs in March after the large increase of 326,000 jobs in the last month. The unemployment rate remained at 4.1 percent for the … [Read more...] about Business Indicators: May 2018