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The pace of US economic growth slowed over the summer but continued its two-year expansion, according to data released on Wednesday, days before millions of voters decide whether Kamala Harris<\/a> or Donald Trump is best placed to lead it forward.<\/p>\n

US gross domestic product (GDP) \u2013 a broad measure of economic health \u2013 rose by 2.8% in the third quarter, short of economists\u2019 expectations of 3.1%, and down from the previous quarter\u2019s 3% reading. The increase was driven primarily by consumer spending, exports and federal government spending<\/p>\n

US policymakers scrambled to bring down inflation from its highest level in a generation two years ago. The Federal Reserve rapidly increased interest rates to tamp down prices in a move that economists feared risked tipping the world\u2019s largest economy into recession. Such warnings failed to materialize.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite earlier fears that the US economy<\/a> was headed for recession, growth continued to outperform,\u201d said Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics. \u201cOverall, the US economy appears to be doing just fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

US economic growth has been surprisingly resilient under Joe Biden<\/a>, with only one quarter \u2013 the first of 2022 \u2013 in decline, as the shockwaves of the Covid-19 pandemic continued to rattle the global economy.<\/p>\n

Inflation has fallen from a generational high of 9.1% in June 2020 to an annual rate of 2.4% in September<\/a>, its lowest rate in over three years.<\/p>\n

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But many Americans still aren\u2019t feeling it. Almost half wrongly believe the US is in recession, according to a Harris Poll conducted exclusively for the Guardian<\/a> last month. Years of rising prices continue to take their toll.<\/p>\n

In a speech<\/a> in Washington on Tuesday, Harris once again tried to allay voters\u2019 fears. Harris promised to assist first-time homebuyers, ban price-gouging at supermarkets and cap the price of insulin. \u201cI will deliver tax cuts to working people and the middle class … I will lead in honoring the dignity of work,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Trump has sought to portray the Biden administration as a \u201cdestroyer\u201d of jobs, despite US employers adding millions of jobs<\/a> in recent years. Harris, Biden\u2019s vice-president, has acknowledged<\/a> that the cost of living remains \u201cjust too high\u201d for many, and has pledged to take action to help.<\/p>\n

The latest GDP report was released ahead of closely watched jobs data for October, out on Friday. Economists expect the economy to have added about 125,000 new positions over the month, the last report before the election report. That figure would be a sharp drop from the 250,000 jobs added in September, when hiring unexpectedly accelerated<\/a>, and will probably reflect the strike at Boeing and the impact of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.<\/p>\n

But there are signs that the US\u2019s resilient jobs market may also shake off last month\u2019s disruptions.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday ADP, the US\u2019s largest payroll supplier, said private companies hired 233,000 new workers in October, the best month for job creation since July 2023, up from 159,000 in September and far ahead of the estimated 113,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven amid hurricane recovery, job growth was strong in October,\u201d the ADP chief economist, Nela Richardson, said. \u201cAs we round out the year, hiring in the US is proving to be robust and broadly resilient.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source: www.theguardian.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The pace of US economic growth slowed over the summer but continued its two-year expansion, according to data released on Wednesday, days before millions of voters decide whether Kamala Harris or Donald Trump is best placed to lead it forward. US gross domestic product (GDP) \u2013 a broad measure of economic health \u2013 rose by…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":94709,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"WB4WB4WP_MODE":"","WB4WP_PAGE_SCRIPTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_STYLES":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FONTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_HEADER":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FOOTER":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\n