Growth of 2.6% at an annualized rate for the fourth quarter in USA, revised downwards.

By Le Figaro with AFP

Posted on 03/30/2023 at 15:15update on 03/30/2023 at 15:23

The GDP growth of the UNITED STATES in the fourth quarter of 2022 was revised down again on Thursday, for the second time, to 2.6%, however without affecting growth for the whole year, the Commerce Department said on Thursday.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is 2.6% at an annualized rate, a measure favored by the United States, which compares GDP to that of the previous quarter and then projects the evolution over the entire year at this rate. The Commerce Department initially announced growth of 2.9%, which it later revised to 2.7%, then to 2.6%.

Using the same method of calculation as other advanced economies, which simply compare to the previous quarter, quarterly growth is also revised downwards, to 0.6% against 0.7% initially announced. However, these revisions have no impact on GDP growth for the whole of 2022, which remains at 2.1%.

This is a slower growth rate compared to 2021, a vintage that had experienced the strongest growth since 1984: 5.9%. The previous year the United States had experienced the largest decline in GDP since 1946 (-3.5%) and two months of recession due to Covid-19.