Why You Should Care About A Revision To the Country’s Economic Growth Measure [Video]

The final word on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter is out, and it confirms that U.S. economic growth slowed considerably in the first quarter, but not quite as dramatically as an earlier estimate showed. 

The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 1.4% in the first quarter, down from 3.4% in the fourth quarter of 2023 the Bureau of Economic Analysis said Thursday.

It was the third and final estimate of GDP growth, revising figures that first came out in April. The second estimate, in May, had shown a 1.3% growth rate. 

The latest reading on GDP, which measures the country’s entire economic output, incorporated new data showing that the U.S. imported fewer goods and services than previously thought. More imports take away from the country’s economic output.

The lessened impact of imports outweighed declines in the estimates for several other areas, including consumer spending, …