Washington, DC – The United States Bureau of Economic Analysis released its “second” estimate, revealing that the real gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 2.8 percent in the third quarter of 2024. This growth marks a slight deceleration from the 3.0 percent increase in the previous quarter.

The increase in real GDP was primarily driven by rises in consumer spending, exports, federal government spending, and nonresidential fixed investment. However, imports, which are deducted in the GDP calculation, also saw an increase. The latest estimate incorporates more comprehensive data compared to the initial estimate, resulting in adjustments to various economic factors such as private inventory investment, nonresidential fixed investment, exports, and consumer spending.

In terms of current-dollar GDP, there was a 4.7 percent increase, amounting to $29.35 trillion in the third quarter. The price index for gross domestic purchases increased by 1.9 percent, with the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index registering a 1.5 percent increase. Excluding food and energy prices, the PCE price index rose by 2.1 percent.

Personal income in the third quarter saw a $175.9 billion increase, primarily fueled by a rise in compensation. Disposable personal income increased by $122.9 billion, while real disposable personal income recorded a 0.8 percent increase. Personal saving totaled $934.4 billion, with a personal saving rate of 4.3 percent.

Real gross domestic income (GDI) increased by 2.2 percent in the third quarter, with the average of real GDP and GDI also rising by 2.5 percent. However, profits from current production experienced a decrease of $10.2 billion in the same period.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis also presented revised estimates for second-quarter wages and salaries, personal taxes, and contributions towards government social insurance, based on updated data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These revisions impacted the real gross domestic income for the second quarter, which was adjusted to show a lower increase of 2.0 percent.

Looking ahead, the next GDP release is scheduled for December 19, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. EST. This upcoming release will provide the third estimate for gross domestic product data and revised estimates for corporate profits for the third quarter of 2024.