The U.S. economy grew at a 2.8% annualized pace in this year’s third quarter due largely to robust consumer spending and a rise in exports.
The U.S. Commerce Department reported that America’s gross domestic product (GDP) slowed slightly from 3% growth in this year’s second quarter.
However, the Q3 GDP report was still strong and showed that the U.S. economy, the world’s biggest, is expanding at a healthy rate.
Economic growth in the U.S. has exceeded 2% for eight of the last nine quarters.
The third-quarter growth was driven by consumer spending and private investments, as well as a surge in exports and government spending.
Consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of U.S. economic activity, accelerated to a 3.5% annual pace in the July through September period, up from 2.8% in this year’s second quarter.
Exports increased at a 7.5% annualized rate, the strongest growth in two years.
Offsetting those gains was a decline in business investment, which slowed sharply on a drop in investment in housing and non-residential buildings such as offices and warehouses.
Additionally, unemployment in the U.S. remains low at 4.1% and inflation has fallen from a peak of 9.1% in June 2022 to 2.6% today.
This report was the second of three that examines third-quarter GDP in the U.S. The Commerce Department will issue its third and final report on Dec. 19 of this year.
