US Economy Grew by 2.8% in Third Quarter

The BBC is reporting that the US economy grew solidly in the three months to September, expanding at an annual rate of 2.8 per cent.

Despite a slight slowdown from the prior quarter’s 3 per cent rate, the figures released by the Commerce Department showed the US is on track for one of the strongest economic performances of any major economy this year.

Consumer spending was the biggest driver, picking up from earlier in the year.

The report arrives days before polls close in America’s hotly contested presidential election, in which surveys have consistently indicated the economy is Americans’ top concern.

It is not clear if the latest figures will do much to ease people’s worries.

Economic sentiment, which darkened abruptly during the pandemic, has remained downbeat, as a roughly 21 per cent jump in prices over the past four years overshadows other economic news, no matter how positive.

According to a poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, this month, a solid 62 per cent of Americans viewed the economy overall as “bad”.