Business Indicators

The pace of U.S. economic growth slowed noticeably in first quarter 2011, with real GDP growth dropping to 1.8 percent at an annualized rate—considerably weaker than the 3.1 percent figure posted for fourth quarter 2010.  Providing evidence of continued economic weakness, U.S. non-farm employment rose by a meager 54,000 jobs (seasonally adjusted) in May.  As a result of poor … [Read more...] about July 2011: Business Indicators

The U.S. economy slowed noticeably in the first quarter, with real GDP growth dropping to 1.7 percent at an annualized rate—considerably weaker than the 3.1 percent figure posted for fourth quarter 2010.  Despite evidence of weakening economic activity, U.S. non-farm employment rose by a robust 244,000 jobs (seasonally adjusted) in April, marking the seventh straight month of … [Read more...] about June 2011: Business Indicators

The U.S. economy appears to be gaining momentum. The most recent estimate of real GDP growth for fourth quarter 2010 was 3.1 percent at an annualized rate—considerably stronger than the 2.6 percent figure posted for third quarter 2010. U.S. nonfarm employment rose by a robust 216,000 jobs (seasonally adjusted) in March, marking the sixth straight month of job increases. In … [Read more...] about May 2011: Business Indicators

The U.S. economy continues an uneven recovery from its deepest recession since the Great Depression.  The preliminary estimate of real GDP growth for fourth quarter 2010 was 3.1 percent at an annualized rate—considerably stronger than the 2.5 percent figure posted for the third quarter of 2010.  U.S. nonfarm employment rose by a meager 36,000 jobs (seasonally adjusted) in … [Read more...] about April 2011: Business Indicators

The U.S. economy continues an uneven recovery from its deepest recession since the Great Depression.  The preliminary estimate of real GDP growth for fourth quarter 2010 was 3.1 percent at an annualized rate—considerably stronger than the 2.5 percent figure posted for third quarter 2010.  U.S. nonfarm employment rose by a meager 36,000 jobs (seasonally adjusted) in January, … [Read more...] about March 2011: Business Indicators

The U.S. economy continues its slow recovery from recession.  For third quarter 2010, estimated real GDP growth was revised upward to a 2.5 percent annualized rate, which is stronger than the 1.7 percent figure for second quarter 2010.  U.S. nonfarm employment rose by a tepid 39,000 jobs (seasonally adjusted) in November, marking the second consecutive month of increases.  In … [Read more...] about January 2011: Business Indicators

The U.S. economy continues to show signs of slow recovery from its deep recession.  For third quarter, estimated real GDP growth was 2.0 percent at an annualized rate, up slightly from the 1.7 percent figure for second quarter 2010.  U.S. nonfarm employment rose by 151,000 jobs (seasonally adjusted) in October, marking the first month of increase after four consecutive months … [Read more...] about December 2010: Business Indicators

The U.S. economy continues to show mixed signs of recovery from its deep recession.  For the second quarter, the final estimate for real GDP growth was 1.7 percent at an annual rate, down from the 3.7 percent figure for first quarter 2010.  U.S. nonfarm employment fell by 95,000 jobs in August, marking the fourth straight month of decline.  In a more positive direction, the … [Read more...] about November 2010: Business Indicators

The U.S. economy continues to show signs of weakness, with a slowing recovery in second quarter 2010.  The revised estimate for real GDP growth in second quarter was 1.6 percent at an annual rate, down substantially from the 3.7 percent figure for first quarter 2010.  U.S. nonfarm employment fell by 54,000 jobs in August, marking the third straight month of decline.  On a more … [Read more...] about October 2010: Business Indicators

Signs of further slowing in the U.S. economy are increasingly evident, and a second downturn seems possible, though not yet likely. The advance estimate for real GDP growth in second quarter was 2.4 percent at an annual rate, down from the 3.7 percent revised estimate for first-quarter 2010.  U.S. nonfarm employment fell by 131,000 jobs in July, though private employment rose … [Read more...] about September 2010: Business Indicators

The US economic recovery softened in the first quarter of 2010 as measured by growth in real GDP of 2.7 percent, down from 5.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009.  The June 2010 employment report indicated that the economy lost a net 125,000 jobs.  The change in the employment levels included the loss of 225,000 census-worker jobs and a gain of 83,000 private-sector … [Read more...] about August 2010: Business Indicators

The US economy has posted several quarters of solid growth in gross domestic product.   Most of that growth has been driven by consumption spending and firms restocking inventories, although business investment in equipment and software made a strong showing in the first quarter of 2010.  Still, there is evidence of continued weakness in the US economy.  The May 2010 employment … [Read more...] about July 2010: Business Indicators

The US economy continued to recover from one of the deepest recessions in US history.  US gross domestic product (GDP) has advanced for the last three quarters, with growth averaging 3.7 percent over that period.  Personal consumption expenditures, accounting for almost 70 percent of GDP, have rebounded, posting an average gain of 2.7 percent in the last three quarters.  Still, … [Read more...] about June 2010: Business Indicators

The US economy continued to expand without adding much in the way of new jobs.  US employment was down by 2.4% over the last year and essentially unchanged from the previous month.  But, there are strong indications that the national economy is primed for employment growth soon.  Productivity, in terms of output per worker, increased at an annual rate of 5.9% in February.  … [Read more...] about May 2010: Business Indicators

After four straight quarters of decline following the financial crash of October 2008, US gross domestic product (GDP) growth finally moved into positive territory in the 3rd quarter of 2009. GDP grew at an annual rate of 2.2 percent that quarter with much of the growth attributable to government spending linked to the federal fiscal stimulus package.   The US economy expanded … [Read more...] about April 2010: Business Indicators