Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

What’s Behind California’s Frozen Housing Market?

5 hours ago

Oil Prices Rise on Trade War Relief, US Pressure on Russia

6 hours ago

Marjorie Taylor Greene Is First Republican Lawmaker to Call Gaza Crisis a ‘Genocide’

8 hours ago

UK Will Recognize Palestinian Statehood in September, Barring Israel-Hamas Ceasefire

8 hours ago

Trump’s EPA to Repeal Core of Greenhouse Gas Rules in Major Deregulatory Move

9 hours ago

US Approval of Israel’s Gaza Offensive Drops to 32%, Poll Shows

10 hours ago

Shooter in New York Skyscraper Left Note Blaming NFL for Brain Injury, Mayor Says

11 hours ago

Trump Eyes Aug 1 Trade Deals as EU, China Talks Continue, US Commerce Chief Says

11 hours ago

Trump Says Many Are Starving in Gaza, Vows to Set up Food Centers

1 day ago
US Economy Grew at Modest 2% Rate in 2nd Quarter
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
September 26, 2019

Share

WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy grew at a modest 2% annual rate in the second quarter, a pace sharply lower than the 3%-plus growth rates seen over the past year. Many analysts believe growth will slow further in coming quarters as global weakness and rising trade tensions exert a toll.

The April-June increase in the gross domestic product, the economy’s total output of goods and services, slipped from a brisk 3.1% gain in the first quarter, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
The April-June increase in the gross domestic product, the economy’s total output of goods and services, slipped from a brisk 3.1% gain in the first quarter, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
The government’s third and final look at second-quarter GDP growth was the same as the previous estimate, although the components were slightly altered. Consumer spending and business investment rose at slower rates than previously estimated, but this was offset by slightly stronger gains in government spending and exports.
In the current quarter, analysts believe GDP is likely growing at the same modest 2% rate, and they are forecasting a similar outcome in the final quarter.
For the year, GDP is expected to rise around 2.2%, down from the strong 2.9% gain seen last year, which had been the best performance since 2015.
President Donald Trump, who is counting on a strong economy to boost his re-election bid, has called the economy’s performance the best ever. But after a spurt in growth last year due to the president’s $1.5 trillion tax cut program, growth has slowed noticeably to slightly below the 2.2% annual growth rates turned in during the current economic expansion.
While the economic recovery from the Great Recession is now in its 11th year, the longest in U.S. history, it has been the slowest in terms of annual growth rates, a fact economists attribute to slower growth in the labor market, due to the retirement of baby boomers, and a slowdown in productivity.

Fading Impact of the Trump Tax Cuts

Trump, however, repeatedly attacked Obama administration economic policies for the lackluster GDP rates and pledged to achieve annual growth above 3% with his economic program of big tax cuts, deregulation and tougher enforcement of trade laws.

“It all hinges on the president and what he decides to do with trade. If he follows through on this tariff threats later this year, then in all likelihood growth will slow and we would end up in a recession next year.” — Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics
The economy has achieved four quarters of 3%-plus GDP rates since Trump took office in early 2017, but economists doubt that this pace can be achieved on a sustained basis given the labor force and productivity issues facing the country.
This year’s expected slowdown has been attributed to a fading of the impact of the Trump tax cuts as well as adverse effects of Trump’s trade war with China.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said that if Trump carries through with an escalation of the tariffs nest month and in December, it could be enough to push the country into a recession next year.
“It all hinges on the president and what he decides to do with trade,” Zandi said. “If he follows through on this tariff threats later this year, then in all likelihood growth will slow and we would end up in a recession next year.”

Growth Forecast Is 1.6% Next Year

Zandi is forecasting that GDP growth this year will slow to 2.3% and then slow further to 1.6% next year, but that is based on no escalation in the trade war with China.
The GDP report showed that consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of economic activity, came in at a sizzling rate of 4.6%, the best quarterly performance since late 2014, but down slightly from last month’s estimate of a 4.7% rate of gain for consumer spending.
Spending by the federal government and state and local governments increased at a 4.8% rate in the spring, up from last month’s estimate of a 4.5% gain.
In a separate report, the Labor Department said Thursday that the number of Americans filing initial claims for unemployment benefits, a proxy for layoffs, rose by 3,000 last week to 213,000. That is still a low level indicating a strong labor market.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Tsunami Advisory Issued for Western Alaska After Magnitude 8.7 Earthquake

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Dies in DUI Crash, Driver Arrested

DON'T MISS

Madera County Wildfire Burns Near Fairmead, Containment at 0%

DON'T MISS

Watch Twin Meteor Showers Reach Their Simultaneous Peak in Summer Skies

DON'T MISS

New York Gunman Was Flagged by Security Camera System Before Attack, Sources Say

DON'T MISS

As Trump Cuts Education, Candidates Line Up for California’s Top Schools Job

DON'T MISS

US House Panel Rejects Immunity Request by Epstein Associate Maxwell

DON'T MISS

Fresno’s Vacant Property Ordinance Punishes the Wrong People: Rassamni

DON'T MISS

Trump Approval Rating Sinks to 40%, the Lowest of His Term, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

DON'T MISS

What’s Behind California’s Frozen Housing Market?

UP NEXT

New York Gunman Was Flagged by Security Camera System Before Attack, Sources Say

UP NEXT

US House Panel Rejects Immunity Request by Epstein Associate Maxwell

UP NEXT

Trump Approval Rating Sinks to 40%, the Lowest of His Term, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

UP NEXT

Trump Says Wall Street Journal, Murdoch Want to Settle Defamation Lawsuit

UP NEXT

New York Officer Killed in Manhattan Shooting Remembered as Hero in Bangladesh, US

UP NEXT

US States Sue Over Trump Demands for Data on Food Stamp Recipients

UP NEXT

FAA Failed to Act Before Helicopter Crash, Transport Chief Says

UP NEXT

Marjorie Taylor Greene Is First Republican Lawmaker to Call Gaza Crisis a ‘Genocide’

UP NEXT

New Gallup Poll Reveals Most Immoral Behaviors In America

UP NEXT

Trump’s EPA to Repeal Core of Greenhouse Gas Rules in Major Deregulatory Move

Watch Twin Meteor Showers Reach Their Simultaneous Peak in Summer Skies

2 hours ago

New York Gunman Was Flagged by Security Camera System Before Attack, Sources Say

2 hours ago

As Trump Cuts Education, Candidates Line Up for California’s Top Schools Job

3 hours ago

US House Panel Rejects Immunity Request by Epstein Associate Maxwell

4 hours ago

Fresno’s Vacant Property Ordinance Punishes the Wrong People: Rassamni

4 hours ago

Trump Approval Rating Sinks to 40%, the Lowest of His Term, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

4 hours ago

What’s Behind California’s Frozen Housing Market?

5 hours ago

Tulare County Authorities Find Body in Sequoia National Park

6 hours ago

Oil Prices Rise on Trade War Relief, US Pressure on Russia

6 hours ago

Scottie Scheffler vs. Everybody: Open Champion Makes His Case Among the Greats

7 hours ago

Tsunami Advisory Issued for Western Alaska After Magnitude 8.7 Earthquake

A tsunami advisory has been issued for parts of western Alaska following a powerful magnitude 8.7 earthquake Tuesday evening in the North Pa...

46 minutes ago

46 minutes ago

Tsunami Advisory Issued for Western Alaska After Magnitude 8.7 Earthquake

Juan Carlos Mendoza Jr., 23, was arrested on suspicion of DUI and vehicular manslaughter after a crash in Fresno County killed a 24-year-old passenger. (Fresno County SO)
57 minutes ago

Fresno Man Dies in DUI Crash, Driver Arrested

A wildfire in Madera County, dubbed the 19 Fire, has burned 16 acres with 0% containment as of Tuesday, July 29, 2025, afternoon, according to CalFire. (CalFire)
1 hour ago

Madera County Wildfire Burns Near Fairmead, Containment at 0%

2 hours ago

Watch Twin Meteor Showers Reach Their Simultaneous Peak in Summer Skies

A man holding a rifle walks into an office building at 345 Park Avenue shortly before a shooting that killed several people, in the Midtown Manhattan district of New York City, U.S. July 28, 2025, in a still image taken from surveillance video. Surveillance Camera/Handout via REUTERS
2 hours ago

New York Gunman Was Flagged by Security Camera System Before Attack, Sources Say

Teacher Uses Globe While Instructing Her Students
3 hours ago

As Trump Cuts Education, Candidates Line Up for California’s Top Schools Job

Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell stands at the podium to address Judge Alison Nathan during her sentencing in a courtroom sketch in New York City, U.S. June 28, 2022. (Reuters File)
4 hours ago

US House Panel Rejects Immunity Request by Epstein Associate Maxwell

4 hours ago

Fresno’s Vacant Property Ordinance Punishes the Wrong People: Rassamni

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend