New GDP shows U.S. economy bouncing back
Photo | Grant Welker
The economic growth in the second quarter was led, in part, by the travel industry.
The U.S. economy rebounded in the third quarter, growing at a 2.6% annual rate after contracting in the second quarter.
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released the new real gross domestic product data Thursday morning. Government analysts said increases in exports, and both consumer and government spending fueled the growth.
The leading contributors to rising exports of goods and services included industrial supplies and petroleum, and travel and business services. Health care outlays helped drive up consumer spending on services although the Bureau of Economic Analysis also cited a "deceleration in consumer spending."
Defense spending and increases in state and local government employee compensation helped boost overall government expenditures.
On the savings front, the personal saving rate, or personal savings as a percentage of disposable personal income, was 3.3% in the third quarter, compared with 3.4% in the second quarter, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The economic news comes less than two weeks ahead of the midterm elections and President Joe Biden, who has shouldered blame for soaring inflation and persistently high gas prices, quickly released a statement noting that unemployment in the U.S. stands at a 50-year low and asserting that manufacturing is "booming."
"For months, doomsayers have been arguing that the US economy is in a recession and Congressional Republicans have been rooting for a downturn," Biden said. "But today we got further evidence that our economic recovery is continuing to power forward. This is a testament to the resilience of the American people."
Beacon Hill Democrats in recent months have cited a possible recession among the concerns that have left them unable to agree on the size and scope of an election-year package of spending measures and tax cuts.
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