For Immediate Release: Friday, July 27, 2012
Contact: Phoebe Silag or Karen Conner, news@epi.org 202-775-8810

Sluggish GDP growth continues in second quarter

According to today’s data release from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), gross domestic product (GDP)—the broadest measure of the nation’s economic activity—grew at an annualized rate of 1.5 percent in the second quarter of 2012, a deceleration from the previous quarter’s 2.0 percent growth rate. The detailed analysis in todays’ GDP Picture shows that this 1.75 percent average growth rate for the first six months of 2012 follows a year (2011) that saw average quarterly growth rates of just 2.0 percent. This makes 18 months where the economy has essentially grown well below the rate needed to put sustained downward pressure on unemployment rates.

Data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ GDP report are updated quarterly on The State of Working America website.