The North American economy grew 1.4%, at an annualized rate, in the first quarter of this year, the US executive confirmed this Thursday.
This is the third publication of this indicator and represents an upward revision compared to the last estimate, which pointed to growth of 1.3%.
This improvement “primarily reflected a downward revision in imports, which are a subtraction in the GDP calculation, and upward revisions in non-residential fixed investment and government expenditures” , explains the US Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The increase in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) primarily reflected increases in consumer spending, residential fixed investment, nonresidential fixed investment, and state and local government spending, which were partially offset by a decrease in private investment in stocks.
This GDP growth in the first quarter marks, however, a strong deceleration in relation to the 3.4% rate recorded in the last quarter of 2023.
The quarterly slowdown was due to the slowdown in private consumption, exports and public expenditure, although these movements were partially offset by an acceleration in residential investment.
The United States publishes its growth at an annualized rate, a measure that compares GDP with that of the previous quarter and then projects the variation in that rate for the entire year.
Unemployment declines
Unemployment benefit claims in the United States fell to 233,000 in the week ending June 22, six thousand fewer than in the previous week, according to data from the US Department of Labor.
The value for the previous week was revised upwards by around a thousand new orders.
In turn, the average for the last four weeks, which constitutes a more reliable indicator of the performance of the North American labor market, rose by three thousand, to 236 thousand.
In the week ending June 15, 1.839 million people were receiving unemployment benefits in the USA, which corresponds to an increase of around 18 thousand compared to the previous week and a maximum since the end of November 2021.
The four-week average rose by around 12,250 people, to 1.816 million, the highest since December 2021.
Unemployment data may suggest a slightly longer wait for a reduction in the Federal Reserve’s key rates.
