The U.S. economy grew at a rate of 2.8% in the third quarter of 2024, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) statistics released Wednesday.
The growth in the third quarter comes after a better-than-expected 3.0% growth rate in the second quarter of 2024, according to the BEA. Economists forecast that GDP would increase by about 3.0% in the third quarter, according to Forecast.com.
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Growth in consumer spending fell to the lowest point since March as Americans’ savings fall from the all-time highs seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
Consumer spending, measured by the personal consumption expenditure (PCE), increased by $41.2 billion in the month of October, an increase of 0.2%, less than the 0.7% increase that was seen in September as Americans cut back, accordingto the BEA. The cooling in spending follows a huge decline in the amount of savings Americans collectively hold, falling from over $1 trillion in May to $768.6 billion in October, far from the all-time high of almost $6 trillion in April 2020, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
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Economic growth was revised downward for the second quarter of 2022, coming more in line with economists’ original expectations, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
Yearly real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was revised down from 2.4% to 2.1% growth in the second estimate for the second quarter of 2023, according to the BEA. The revision is more in line with original expectations from economists of around 2% growth for the second quarter, showing signs of a cooling economy.
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At least 13.9 million of the nation’s small businesses are at serious risk of shuttering their doors by April 1, a recent industry report found.
Forty-four percent of the country’s 31.7 million small businesses are at risk of closing by the end of the first quarter, according to small business group Alignable. Small businesses on the brink of closure expect to earn less revenue than their owners estimate is needed to stay afloat.
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The U.S. retail sales were much higher than economists projected in January, ending a multi-month streak of underperformance, according to the Commerce Department.
Retail sales increased 5.3% and totaled $568.2 billion in January, according to the Department of Commerce report released Wednesday. Economists had predicted retail sales to increase by 1.2%, The New York Times reported.
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