The Commerce Department just announced Gross Domestic Product ticked up 1.5 percent in the second quarter — that down from a growth rate of 2 percent in the first part of the year.
The U.S. economy added less jobs than expected in May. At the same time, the number of workers filing for unemployment benefits rose, and the number of planned layoffs in hit an eight month high.
The Federal Reserve won't be taking any major new steps to help the economy at this time, and the reason is that the Fed expects the U.S. economy to grow at about 3 percent this year.
Imagine if the U.S. Economy grew at 8.1 percent a year instead of the 3 perecent we've been living with. But in China this means slower growth recorded in the first three months of the year.
The Department of Commerce revised its gross domestic product report for the last quarter of 2011, revealing more evidence that the U.S. economy could be entering a new phase of recovery.
The nation's gross domestic product — the value of all goods and services produced — grew at an annual rate of 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter, the fastest pace since the second quarter of 2010.
