US Economy Grows at Modest 1.9 Percent Rate in Third Quarter
The U.S. economy grows faster than expected in the third quarter as a further contraction in busines..
The U.S. economy grows faster than expected in the third quarter as a further contraction in business investment was offset by resilient consumer spending.
The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that the July-September performance for the gross domestic product, the economys total output of goods and services, was slightly below the 2 percent rate of growth in the second quarter.
Economists had expected the Q3 economic growth to be at 1.6 percent.
Businesses maintained a steady pace of inventory accumulation and the housing market rebounded after contracting for six straight quarters, the government said in its advance estimate of GDP.
Consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of economic activity, grew at a solid 2.9 percent rate in the third quarter, but it was still a slowdown after a 4.6 percent surge in the second quarter.
Healthy Consumer Spending
Growth in consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, slowed to a still-healthy 2.9 percent rate last quarter after surging at a 4.6 percent pace in the second quarter, the fastest since the fourth quarter of 2017.
Consumer spending is being powered by the lowest unemployment rate in nearly 50 years. But some economists are starting to question the resilience of the consumer after retail sales fell in September for the first time in seven months.
