GDP falls at 1% rate in Q2, less than expected
WASHINGTON -- The economy contracted at a 1% annual rate in the spring, a strong sign recession is winding down, and President Obama said Friday that it got a boost from the $787 billion economic stimulus program Congress enacted within weeks of his taking office.
Commerce said Friday that the 1% dip in gross domestic product for the April to June period came after the economy tumbled at a terrifying 6.4% pace in the first three months of this year and a steep 5.4% drop the quarter before that. The 6.4% drop was the sharpest downhill slide in nearly three decades.
Many economists were predicting a slightly bigger 1.5% annualized contraction in second-quarter GDP, the total value of all goods and services produced within the United States.
Obama told reporters that some of the recent progress is "directly attributable" to the stimulus program. He says that and other "difficult but important steps" his administration has taken the past six months have helped "put the brakes on the recession."
"The recession looks to have largely bottomed in the spring," said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors. "Businesses have made most of the adjustments they needed to make, and that will set up the economy to resume growing in the summer," he predicted.
In a separate report Friday, the Labor Department said employment costs rose 1.8% the 12 months ending in June, smallest annual gain on records that go back to 1982. The department said for the April-June quarter, its Employment Cost Index rose just 0.4%, slightly above the 0.3% rise in the first quarter, which had been the smallest quarterly gain on record.
The economy has now contracted for a record four quarters, underscoring the grim toll of the recession on consumers and companies.
Less drastic spending cuts by businesses, a resumption of spending by federal and local governments and an improved trade picture were key forces behind the better second-quarter performance. Consumers, though, pulled back a bit. Rising unemployment, shrunken nest eggs and lower home values have weighed on their spending.
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