US Economy Shrank in First 3 Months of 2022
AllSides Summary
The U.S. economy unexpectedly shrank in the first quarter of 2022, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Economists had predicted 1% growth in U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) for Q1, leading analysts across the spectrum to call Thursday's data a disappointment. Consumer spending rose 2.7%, while consumer prices rose 7.8%. The Q1 figure was a significant slowdown from the 6.9% growth pace recorded in the final quarter of 2021, and the worst performance for GDP since the COVID-19 pandemic recession in the second quarter of 2020. Analysts on all sides also said that some of the factors fueling the decline, such as a surge in imports, aren't likely to persist.
The news was covered prominently by news sources on the left, center and right. Many framed the data as worrisome while also highlighting how global markets didn't respond as negatively to the data as some may have expected.
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From the Center
U.S. GDP fell at a 1.4% pace to start the year as pandemic recovery takes a hit
Gross domestic product unexpectedly declined at a 1.4% annualized pace in the first quarter, marking an abrupt reversal for an economy coming off its best performance since 1984, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
The negative growth rate missed even the subdued Dow Jones estimate of a 1% gain for the quarter. GDP measures the output of goods and services in the U.S. for the three-month period.
A plethora of factors conspired to weigh against growth during the first three months of 2022, which fell off a cliff following the 6.9%...
From the Left
The US economy shrank in the first quarter
America's economy unexpectedly shrank in the first quarter of 2022, data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed Thursday.
The nation's gross domestic product -- the broadest measure of economic activity -- declined at an annualized rate of 1.4% between January and March in an abrupt reversal of the prior year's strong growth.
While one quarter does not yet make a trend, it is a warning sign for how the recovery is going: Two straight quarters of declining growth meet a commonly used definition of a recession.
It was a marked...
From the Right
Major disappointment: Economy shrank at 1.4% annual rate in first quarter
GDP contracted at a 1.4% annualized rate in the first quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday morning, meaning that slowing commerce added to the woes of high inflation.
The decline in GDP, which is adjusted for inflation, is a major reversal from the previous quarter, when growth soared to a 6.9% rate as businesses began healing faster from the pandemic.
Friday's report means that President Joe Biden now has to contend with economic contraction in addition to the soaring inflation that has strained households and driven down his...
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