In the third quarter of this year, the US economy achieved its fastest growth in nearly two years, thanks to the growth in consumer spending due to rising wages.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Ministry of Commerce said – in its advance estimate of GDP growth in the third quarter – that it rose by 4.9%, which is the fastest pace since the last quarter of 2021.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 4.3% increase in gross domestic product.
Consumer spending, which is the main driver of the US economy, increased by 4%, the highest growth rate since 2021.
The US economy grew by 2.1% in the second quarter of the year, at a pace much higher than what Federal Reserve (central bank) officials consider a non-inflationary growth rate of about 1.8%.
Although the strong pace of growth achieved in the third quarter is unlikely to be sustainable, it serves as a testament to the resilience of the economy despite the Federal Reserve raising interest rates. Growth may slow in the fourth quarter due to worker strikes and millions of Americans repaying college loans.
The Ministry of Labor highlighted the strength of the labor market in a separate report issued today, Thursday, which showed that the number of people who filed new applications for government unemployment benefits rose to a seasonally adjusted level of 210,000 during the week ending October 21, from 200. A thousand the previous week.
Financial markets expect the Federal Reserve to hold interest rates from October 31 to the end of November.
For its part, Bloomberg News Agency reported that the recent growth data confirms the continued steadfastness of the largest economy in the world in the face of high prices and the rapid rise in borrowing costs, which exceeded analysts’ expectations and allayed fears of a recession, adding that the main source of this flexibility in the American economy is the continued strength of the economy. Labor market and domestic consumer spending growth.
