In the wake of an initial spike in COVID-19 infections across the nation earlier this year, President Donald Trump confidently predicted a so-called “V-shaped recovery” in the coming months as the pandemic’s threat subsided.
Although regions of the United States continue to grapple with high infection rates and continued lockdown orders, economic data from the end of October bolstered Trump’s earlier prediction by showing the nation’s gross domestic product rebounded by more than 33% annually, as reported by Fox Business.
Third-quarter gains nearly cover second-quarter losses
The promising news has since been confirmed by the Department of Commerce.
While the second estimate provided some revisions, the overall rate of GDP growth in the third quarter remained unchanged at 33.1%.
Among the Commerce Department’s changes were downward revisions for government and consumer spending as well as private inventory investments. Imports were revised upward, which also serves to reduce GDP.
Nevertheless, those losses were offset by revisions that reflected a higher increase in exports, nonresidential fixed investment, and residential investment.
Incredibly, the rate of economic growth has nearly made up for the catastrophic losses incurred amid the widespread shutdowns of 2020’s second quarter.
“I want to congratulate the people of our country”
There has been some disagreement among experts regarding exactly how much the economy contracted during the quarter, but estimates place it as the worst on record since the government began tracking the metric in 1947. A CNBC report placed the second-quarter economic contraction at a staggering 31.4%.
When the earlier estimate of third-quarter GDP growth was released, the White House Council of Economic Advisers heralded the news as a fulfillment of Trump’s earlier prediction that “we’re coming back, and we’re coming back strong.”
The statement referenced the president’s remarks in April upon announcing his plan to safely reopen the nation’s economy, declaring at the time that the United States had “built the greatest economy anywhere in the world … and we’re going to build it again.”
Trump found another reason to celebrate the nation’s economy when the Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 30,000 for the first time ever.
During brief remarks from the White House, he said: “I just want to congratulate all the people within the administration that worked so hard, and most importantly I want to congratulate the people of our country, because there are no people like you. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you.”
The post Revised estimate of third-quarter GDP numbers confirms earlier report of 33.1% growth first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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