Real GDP grew at an annual rate of 4.9% in the third quarter of 2023, according to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Real GDP increased 2.1% in the second quarter of 2023.
The increase in real GDP reflected increases in consumer spending, private inventory investment, exports, state and local government spending, federal government spending, and residential fixed investment that were partly offset by a decrease in nonresidential fixed investment. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased.
Consumption added 2.69 percentage points (pp) to growth, following a 0.55 pp addition in the second quarter of 2023. The increase in PCE was driven by services (1.62 pp) such as those in the household consumption expenditure: housing and utilities (0.42 pp), health care (0.33 pp), and financial services and insurance (0.29 pp). Goods (1.08 pp), including recreational goods and vehicles (0.37 pp), furnishings and durable household equipment (0.12 pp), other nondurable goods (0.38 pp), and clothing and footwear (0.12 pp) added to the increase in PCE. The sole negative contributor in goods was the gasoline and other energy goods category, subtracting 0.13 pp from the increase in PCE. Inventories increased 1.32 pp.
Business investment added 1.47 pp to GDP. Nonresidential fixed investment remained unchanged, with equipment subtracting 0.19 pp and intellectual property products adding 0.14 pp. Residential added 0.15 pp.
Government spending increased, adding 0.79 pp to GDP. Federal and state-local government added 0.39 and 0.40 pp to GDP, respectively.
Exports added 0.68 pp to GDP while imports subtracted 0.75 pp.
Read the BEA release.
