Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew at a 2.9% rate in the third quarter of 2022, up from a 0.6% decline in the second quarter, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
The GDP metric is based on more complete data than the bureau’s initial estimate of 2.6% growth released in October, the BEA wrote in a press release. Upward revisions to consumer spending and nonresidential fixed investment partially offset by a downward adjustment to private inventory investment were the primary factors driving the upward revision, according to the BEA. A greater decrease in imports than the BEA estimated also contributed to the revised figure.
The economy grew at an annual 2.9% pace in the third quarter, updated figures show, and the U.S. is on track to expand again in the waning months of 2022, despite growing worries about recession https://t.co/X9W7IVzULk
— Anthony DeRosa (@Anthony) November 30, 2022
Real GDP increased from the second to third quarter because of increases in exports, consumer spending, nonresidential fixed investment and government spending, according to the BEA.
Export increases applied to both goods and services, such as industrial supplies and financial services. Consumer spending growth was driven by an increase in services led by healthcare, and partially offset by a decrease in goods dominated by motor vehicles and parts.
Government spending increases on both the state and local level were driven by employee compensation and structural investments, while defense spending headed the increase in federal government spending. (RELATED: Sen. Marco Rubio Sides With Unions In Ongoing Railroad Dispute)
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced statistics on October job openings in a press release. A total of 10.3 million job openings existed at the end of October, hires for the month were 6.0 million compared to 5.7 million total separations, made up of quits, layoffs and discharges measured by the BLS.
Gross Domestic Product is a comprehensive measure of U.S. economic activity and the most popular indicator of America’s economic condition. In the previous two quarters of 2022, GDP experienced negative growth, BEA data shows.
Economists typically define a recession as two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, an unofficial designation that the Biden administration has contested.