The US economy grew by 7.4 percent in the third quarter of 2020, or 33.1 percent on an annualized basis. This is the fastest pace of GDP growth ever recorded and is another sign that the economy is recovering strongly from the Coronavirus pandemic.
This GDP growth was nearly double the previous record quarterly growth of 16.7 percent which was recorded in the first quarter of 1950.
Private domestic investment increased by 83 percent on an annualized basis in the third quarter of 2020, while personal consumption increased by 40.7 percent.
This is just the latest sign of good economic news. 11 million jobs have been recovered in the past five months after businesses were forcefully shuttered, meaning we have recovered more than half of the jobs lost. The unemployment rate is down to 7.9 percent, a comparable level to the 7.8 percent rate in 2012 under Obama.
Moving forward, we need to continue promoting pro-growth policies to ensure the economy fully recovers.
Prior to the pandemic, the unemployment rate was 3.5 percent, a 50-year low. In 2019, real median household income increased by $4,400 or nearly 7 percent. This wage growth exceeded gains during the entire Obama administration, which was just $3,000 or 5 percent.
This economic prosperity was experienced by key demographics and income levels. For instance, African Americans and Hispanic Americans saw their median income hit record levels, while the poverty rate declined to 10.5 percent, the lowest rate in decades. The bottom 25 percent of wage earners also experienced wage growth faster than the top 25 percent of wage earners, according to the Atlanta Fed.