Unemployment Rate Drops to Lowest Level since 2007
First Jobs Report of the Semester

The U.S. Economy is Muddling Along

This morning, the BEA released its advance estimate of GDP data for the first quarter of 2017.  Real GDP growth is estimated at just 0.7 percent.   Remember that this first estimate is rough and has lately been subject to upward revisions.  Still, this estimate implies that the U.S. economy is really just sputtering along. 

GPD2017.I

None of the four main components of GDP increased much.  The table below shows how each contributed to the overall growth rate. 

GDPTable2017.I

The meager increase in consumption spending is particularly worrisome in historical context: this is the smallest increase since the fourth quarter of 2009.  This is a bit surprising due to the recently high estimates of consumer confidence.   And remember that consumption makes up about 70% of total GDP spending.