The BEA Wire | BEA's Official Blog

The May 31st deadline is rapidly approaching for people to return their completed BE–12 surveys to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The U.S. monthly international trade deficit decreased in March 2013 according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau. The deficit decreased from $43.6 billion (revised) in February to $38.8 billion in March as imports decreased more than exports.

Personal income increased 0.2 percent in March after increasing 1.1 percent in February. Wages and salaries, the largest component of personal income, increased 0.2 percent in March after increasing 0.7 percent in February.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) accelerated in the first quarter of 2013, increasing 2.5 percent after increasing 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012, according to estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Durable-goods manufacturing, finance and insurance, and wholesale trade services were the leading contributors to U.S. economic growth in 2012, according to advance statistics on the breakout of real gross domestic product (GDP) by industry from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The U.S. monthly international trade deficit decreased in February 2013 according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau. The deficit decreased from $44.5 billion (revised) in January to $43.0 billion in February as exports increased more than imports.

Personal income increased 1.1 percent in February after decreasing 3.7 percent in January. The January decrease reflected accelerated bonus payments and dividend distributions in December in anticipation of income tax changes.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013 after increasing 3.1 percent in the third quarter, according to estimates released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

In the fourth quarter of 2012, average state personal income growth accelerated to 1.9 percent from 0.6 percent in the third quarter, the fastest pace since the first quarter of 2011. Fourth-quarter growth ranged from 1.3 percent in West Virginia to 4.8 percent in South Dakota.

The U.S. net international investment position was –$4,416.2 billion (preliminary) at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012 compared with –$4,663.4 billion at the end of the third quarter as the value of foreign investments in the United States exceeded the value of U.S. investments abroad.

A more up-to-date picture of the value of what the United States owns abroad compared to what foreign investors own in this country will debut March 26 when the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) releases its first quarterly estimates of the U.S. international investment position.

Real Tourism Spending.  Real spending on “traveler accommodations” accelerated, increasing 9.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 after increasing 5.3 percent in the third quarter.  Real spending on “food services and drinking places” also accelerated, increasing 8.6 percent i