The BEA Wire | BEA's Official Blog

GDP Increases in Fourth Quarter

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to the “third” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The growth rate was revised down 0.4 percentage point from the “initial” estimate released in February. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 3.4 percent.

GDP Back on Schedule With `Third’ Estimate

When the Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates the nation’s gross domestic product on March 28, it will officially be a “third estimate” – even though we’ve only estimated GDP for that quarter once before.

BEA Working on Project to Estimate Puerto Rico’s GDP

The Bureau of Economic Analysis plans to produce new economic data for Puerto Rico this year that could lay the groundwork for later estimating the island’s gross domestic product.

BEA plans to develop and publish later this year estimates for specific components that would feed into Puerto Rico’s GDP, such as consumer spending, business investment, and trade in goods. Estimates for these components will cover 2012 through 2017 and…

GDP Increases in Fourth Quarter

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to the “initial” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 3.4 percent.

Fourth-quarter GDP highlights The increase in real GDP reflected increases in consumer spending, business investment, exports, and inventory investment.

Wholesale Trade Led Growth in the Third Quarter

Wholesale trade; information; and finance and insurance were the leading contributors to the increase in U.S. economic growth in the third quarter of 2018. Overall, 19 of 22 industry groups contributed to the 3.4 percent increase in real GDP in the third quarter.

Guam GDP Increases in 2017

The estimates of GDP for Guam show that real GDP—GDP adjusted to remove price changes—increased 0.2 percent in 2017 after increasing 0.3 percent in 2016. For comparison, real GDP for the United States increased 2.2 percent in 2017 after increasing 1.6 percent in 2016.

Northern Mariana Islands’ GDP Increases in 2017

The estimates of GDP for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands show that real GDP—GDP adjusted to remove price changes—increased 25.1 percent in 2017, after increasing 28.2 percent in 2016. For comparison, real GDP for the United States (excluding the territories) increased 2.2 percent in 2017 after increasing 1.6 percent in 2016.

Coming Soon: More Timely Data on the Health of States' Economies

BEA’s annual gross domestic product by state report provides a crucial look into the health of states’ economies. Soon businesses, consumers, and policymakers will get a sneak peak at a more timely and frequent version of the report.