America's GDP Soared 33.1% in 3rd Quarter, Recording Fastest Ever Expansion
U.S. economy grew at the fastest pace ever recorded in the third quarter
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America's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has soared by 33.1 percent in the third quarter of this year, marking the fastest economic expansion ever recorded.
The U.S. economy has skyrocketed in the months from July through September, despite grim predictions amid the global COVID-19 pandemic.
On Thursday, the U.S. Commerce Department announced that GDP is expanding at an unprecedented annualized pace.
The economic rebound means the U.S. recovered significant ground during one of the most turbulent years in history.
Lockdowns intended to stem the spread of the coronavirus have triggered a record-breaking collapse of output in most industries.
However, the economy is still 3.5 percent smaller than it was as the year began, despite the third-quarter gains.
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Economists had expected the economy to grow 30.9 percent, according to Econoday.
Some economists, however, had been expecting a bigger expansion following the release this week of positive data in recent news on durable good data and international trade.
The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow had third-quarter growth at 37 percent, according to Breitbart.
The third-quarter GDP gain was fueled by a record 40.7 percent increase in consumer spending.
Business investment surged 20.3 percent during the quarter, reflecting a 70.1 percent jump in investment in equipment.
The housing market is booming: residential investment grew at a rate of 59.3 percent.
The standard formula for calculating GDP in the U.S. annualizes the quarterly changes, which can exaggerate the changes.
Absent annualization, the economy grew at 7.4 percent in the third quarter, by far the largest quarterly gain in records that began just after World War II.
The previous record was 1950’s 16.7 percent rate of growth, a 3.9 percent quarterly gain.
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The third-quarter growth follows a 31.4 percent decline in the second quarter, a 9 percent contraction on a quarterly basis, and a five percent annualized contraction in the first quarter.
The economy is still expanding, albeit at a slower pace.
Economists expect the economy will grow in the fourth quarter but still register a contraction for the full-year.
