U.S. Economy Grew At Healthy 2.8% Pace Last Quarter On Strength Of Consumer Spending
HuffPost
The U.S. economy grew at a healthy 2.8% annual rate from July through September, with consumers helping drive growth despite the weight of still-high interest rates.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a healthy 2.8% annual rate from July through September, with consumers helping drive growth despite the weight of still-high interest rates.
Wednesday’s report from the Commerce Department said the gross domestic product — the economy’s total output of goods and services — slowed slightly from its 3% growth rate in the April-June quarter. But the latest figures still reflect surprising durability just as Americans assess the state of the economy in the final stretch of the presidential race.
The report is the first of three estimates the government will make of GDP growth for the third quarter of the year. The U.S. economy has continued to expand in the face of the much higher borrowing rates the Federal Reserve imposed in 2022 and 2023 in its drive to curb inflation. Despite widespread predictions that the economy would succumb to a recession, it has kept growing, with employers still hiring and consumers still spending.
In a sign that the nation’s households, whose purchases drive most of the economy, will continue spending, the Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index posted its biggest monthly gain since March 2021. The proportion of consumers who expect a recession in the next 12 months dropped to its lowest point since the board first posed that question in July 2022.
At the same time, the nation’s once-sizzling job market has lost some momentum. On Tuesday, the government reported that the number of job openings in the United States fell in September to its lowest level since January 2021. And employers have added an average of 200,000 jobs a month so far this year — a healthy number but down from a record 604,000 in 2021 as the economy rebounded from the pandemic recession, 377,000 in 2022 and 251,000 in 2023.
The president milked laughter from an Oval Office audience with the line.
The Texas senator, in the heat of his 2016 presidential campaign, put Trump on blast over his ability to "keep this country safe."
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins claimed it was the result of "over a thousand simulations."
Jared Moskowitz clowned the convicted seditionist by questioning if he'd reveal the location of the "treehouse" where his far-right violent militia group meets.
Tensions between residents and federal immigration officers continued to rise in the Twin Cities area after the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent.
Social media users tossed a "real question" to the president following his cognitive comments in the Oval Office.
The network's data chief said this voting bloc has shifted "very much away" from the president since his return to office.
Several GOP senators backed down from limiting the president's war powers after he threatened them with electoral consequences.
The MS NOW host also chronicled an exodus of Justice Department staffers after Trump claimed Good "ran over" the ICE agent that killed her.
The worker, TJ Sabula, said he was suspended from his job after calling Trump a "pedophile protector" during the president's factory tour.
"Secretary Noem, you have violated your oath of office and there will be consequences," said Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.).
The Michigan line worker said he had “no regrets whatsoever” about antagonizing the president.
The decision is a boon for President Donald Trump's longtime campaign against mail-in voting.