Third Quarter GDP Rises 2 Percent - East Idaho News
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Third Quarter GDP Rises 2 Percent

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GETTY B 112111 MoneyGraphJPG?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1351255516052Comstock Images/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The nation’s economy continued to expand in the third quarter, rising at an annualized rate of 2 percent, the Commerce Department said Friday morning.

The Gross Domestic Product numbers are preliminary and will be adjusted.  The third quarter compares with the previous period when the GDP rose at 1.3 percent.  It’s the first back-to-back quarters with a 2 percent or lower rate since the U.S. began emerging from recession in 2009.

Growth has been sporadic since the recession officially ended, but mostly hovering at the 2-3 percent level — not enough, say economists, to bring down joblessness to where it was before the economic meltdown took full hold in 2007-2008.  After 43 straight months above 8 percent, the unemployment rate dropped to 7.8 percent last month.

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