Economy Boosted by Strong Consumer Spending
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Creatas/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Stronger consumer spending bumped the economic growth rate up to a solid 4.1 percent in the third quarter, according to the Commerce Department’s final revision.
That was much faster than expected and up from a 2.5 percent growth rate in the second quarter.
Michelle Girard, chief economist for RBS, tells ABC News Radio that Friday’s report is good news for the fourth quarter and holiday shopping forecasts.
“The shutdown didn’t have enough of an impact to derail the consumer. It hurt confidence, but it didn’t really cause them to stop spending,” she says.
Girard adds that a strong spending momentum going into the end of the year is a clear suggestion that we could see even better spending in the fourth quarter.
“We think it could be up over three percent,” she says.
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