GDP Report Shows Economy 'Weaker Than Expected'

Leah Barkoukis | October 30, 2024 11:00 AM

The U.S. economy posted “slightly disappointing” growth for the third quarter. Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.8 percent annual rate, adjusted for inflation and seasonality, the Commerce Department announced Wednesday.

Job Creators Network said that looking at the details shows the "economy is far weaker than this number suggests."

"Domestic economic investment was essentially flat in the third quarter, while government spending surged by nearly 10%, more than twice the previous quarter's increase," JCN CEO Alfredo Ortiz pointed out in a statement. "Unlike the real economy, driven by small businesses, the government does not create value, and government spending comes at the expense of the type of meaningful economic growth that drives living standards.

"Meanwhile disposable personal income grew at its slowest rate since 2021, and the personal savings rate fell, demonstrating ordinary consumers are tapped out in the Biden-Harris high-cost economy," his statement continued. "Only pro-growth, conservative policies from a Republican Congress and presidency can generate the real private-sector growth on Main Street needed to improve Americans' quality of life and financial security."

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for an increase of 3.1%. The economy accelerated at a 3% pace in the second quarter. Wednesday’s reading is the first of three the department will issue.
The report confirms that the U.S. expansion has continued despite elevated interest rates and long-standing worries that the burst of fiscal and monetary stimulus that carried the economy through the Covid crisis wouldn’t be enough to sustain growth.
However, resilient consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of all activity, has helped keep the economy moving, as has a relentless wave of government spending that pushed the budget deficit to more than $1.8 trillion in fiscal 2024.
Personal consumption expenditures, the proxy for consumer activity, increased 3.7% for the quarter, the strongest performance since Q1 of 2023. Another major factor the department cited for growth was federal government spending, which exploded higher by 9.7%, pushed by a 14.9% surge in defense outlays.
However, an 11.2% jump in imports, which subtract from GDP, held back the growth number and offset an 8.9% gain in exports. (CNBC)

This economy is garbage, jack@CNBC: U.S. economy grew at a 2.8% pace in the third quarter, less than expected

“Gross domestic product was expected to increase at a 3.1% annualized pace in the third quarter, according to economists surveyed by Dow Jones” https://t.co/Rh1gpxrVyt
— Jack Pandol (@jackpandol) October 30, 2024