The government reported today that America’s consumers spent enough to help drive the economy to a brisk 5.2% annual pace from July through September, an upgrade from its previous estimate, according to the Associated Press. The government had previously estimated that the economy grew at a 4.9% annual rate last quarter.
Today’s second estimate of growth for the July–September quarter confirmed that the economy sharply accelerated from its 2.1% rate from April through June. It showed that the U.S. gross domestic product — the total output of goods and services — grew at its fastest quarterly rate in nearly two years.
Consumer spending, the lifeblood of the economy, rose at a 3.6% annual rate from July through September — still healthy but a downgrade from the previous estimate of 4%. The economy also received a lift from companies building inventories in anticipation of future sales. Also driving the third quarter growth was an uptick in spending and investment by governments at all levels — federal, state, and local.
