The gross domestic product (GDP) is a quarterly economic measure that shows how much production a country produces. In the two months leading up to the release of the final number, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) in the United States produces two estimates of quarterly GDP, known as advance and preliminary estimates:
- The advance estimate of GDP is released in the first month after each quarter and is based on estimates of economic activity for a portion of the quarter (often two of the three months).
- The preliminary estimate is released the month after the advance estimate, and it accounts for modifications to economic data from the months used to produce the advance estimate, as well as new data.
We looked at the pattern of payroll employment data adjustments in a recent Economic Synopses essay. We discovered that the sign of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ revision to payroll employment is more likely to be positive (revised up) during expansions and negative (revised down) during recessions. We suggested that this presented a problem for policymakers who relied on the timely publication of economic indicators to make proper policy decisions.
We wondered if the GDP releases had the same asymmetrythat is, if there was a systematic discrepancy between the final number and, say, the preliminary release. The difference between the final and preliminary releases is depicted in the graph below, with recessions highlighted in gray.
While there are no evident patterns, at the start of recessions, there are usually huge negative revisions from preliminary to final releases.
What is the reason for the disparity between the preliminary and final GDP estimates? The differences could be due to the time period they’re measuring or the methods they’re using to collect data.
Is GDP released every month?
US The Gross Domestic Product of the United States, adjusted for inflation, is used to calculate monthly Real GDP. The entire value of products produced and services provided in the United States is known as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). While the Bureau of Economic Analysis releases official GDP data on a quarterly basis, Macroeconomic Advisors uses calculation and aggregation methods that are equivalent to the official GDP to provide a more up-to-date monthly figure.
Monthly Real GDP in the United States is currently at 19.80 trillion dollars, down from 19.83 trillion dollars last month but up from 18.80 trillion dollars a year ago.
This is down -0.14% from the previous month and up 5.32 percent from a year ago.
What is the current GDP?
Retail and wholesale trade industries led the increase in private inventory investment. The largest contributor to retail was inventory investment by automobile dealers. Increases in both products and services contributed to the increase in exports. Consumer products, industrial supplies and materials, and foods, feeds, and beverages were the biggest contributions to the growth in goods exports. Travel was the driving force behind the increase in service exports. The rise in PCE was mostly due to an increase in services, with health care, recreation, and transportation accounting for the majority of the increase. The increase in nonresidential fixed investment was mostly due to a rise in intellectual property items, which was partially offset by a drop in structures.
The reduction in federal spending was mostly due to lower defense spending on intermediate goods and services. State and local government spending fell as a result of lower consumption (driven by state and local government employee remuneration, particularly education) and gross investment (led by new educational structures). The rise in imports was mostly due to a rise in goods (led by non-food and non-automotive consumer goods, as well as capital goods).
After gaining 2.3 percent in the third quarter, real GDP increased by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. The fourth-quarter increase in real GDP was primarily due to an increase in exports, as well as increases in private inventory investment and PCE, as well as smaller decreases in residential fixed investment and federal government spending, which were partially offset by a decrease in state and local government spending. Imports have increased.
In the fourth quarter, current dollar GDP climbed 14.3% on an annual basis, or $790.1 billion, to $23.99 trillion. GDP climbed by 8.4%, or $461.3 billion, in the third quarter (table 1 and table 3).
In the fourth quarter, the price index for gross domestic purchases climbed 6.9%, compared to 5.6 percent in the third quarter (table 4). The PCE price index climbed by 6.5 percent, compared to a 5.3 percent gain in the previous quarter. The PCE price index grew 4.9 percent excluding food and energy expenses, compared to 4.6 percent overall.
Personal Income
In the fourth quarter, current-dollar personal income climbed by $106.3 billion, compared to $127.9 billion in the third quarter. Increases in compensation (driven by private earnings and salaries), personal income receipts on assets, and rental income partially offset a decline in personal current transfer receipts (particularly, government social assistance) (table 8). Following the end of pandemic-related unemployment programs, the fall in government social benefits was more than offset by a decrease in unemployment insurance.
In the fourth quarter, disposable personal income grew $14.1 billion, or 0.3 percent, compared to $36.7 billion, or 0.8 percent, in the third quarter. Real disposable personal income fell 5.8%, compared to a 4.3 percent drop in the previous quarter.
In the fourth quarter, personal savings totaled $1.34 trillion, compared to $1.72 trillion in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, the personal saving rate (savings as a percentage of disposable personal income) was 7.4 percent, down from 9.5 percent in the third quarter.
GDP for 2021
In 2021, real GDP climbed 5.7 percent (from the 2020 annual level to the 2021 annual level), compared to a 3.4 percent fall in 2020. (table 1). In 2021, all major subcomponents of real GDP increased, led by PCE, nonresidential fixed investment, exports, residential fixed investment, and private inventory investment. Imports have risen (table 2).
PCE increased as both products and services increased in value. “Other” nondurable items (including games and toys as well as medications), apparel and footwear, and recreational goods and automobiles were the major contributors within goods. Food services and accommodations, as well as health care, were the most significant contributors to services. Increases in equipment (dominated by information processing equipment) and intellectual property items (driven by software as well as research and development) partially offset a reduction in structures in nonresidential fixed investment (widespread across most categories). The rise in exports was due to an increase in products (mostly non-automotive capital goods), which was somewhat offset by a drop in services (led by travel as well as royalties and license fees). The increase in residential fixed investment was primarily due to the development of new single-family homes. An increase in wholesale commerce led to an increase in private inventory investment (mainly in durable goods industries).
In 2021, current-dollar GDP expanded by 10.0 percent, or $2.10 trillion, to $22.99 trillion, compared to 2.2 percent, or $478.9 billion, in 2020. (tables 1 and 3).
In 2021, the price index for gross domestic purchases climbed by 3.9 percent, compared to 1.2 percent in 2020. (table 4). Similarly, the PCE price index grew 3.9 percent, compared to 1.2 percent in the previous quarter. The PCE price index climbed 3.3 percent excluding food and energy expenses, compared to 1.4 percent overall.
Real GDP rose 5.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2020 to the fourth quarter of 2021 (table 6), compared to a 2.3 percent fall from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the fourth quarter of 2020.
From the fourth quarter of 2020 to the fourth quarter of 2021, the price index for gross domestic purchases grew 5.5 percent, compared to 1.4 percent from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the fourth quarter of 2020. The PCE price index climbed by 5.5 percent, compared to 1.2 percent for the year. The PCE price index increased 4.6 percent excluding food and energy, compared to 1.4 percent overall.
Source Data for the Advance Estimate
A Technical Note that is issued with the news release on BEA’s website contains information on the source data and major assumptions utilized in the advance estimate. Each version comes with a thorough “Key Source Data and Assumptions” file. Refer to the “Additional Details” section below for information on GDP updates.
Where can I find GDP figures?
Data on Gross Domestic Product may be accessed in the National Accounts dataset site and the International Financial Statistics dataset portal’s Data Tables tab.
How long would it take for a 2.5 percent-growing economy to double in size?
For instance, if an economy grows at 1% per year, it will take 70 / 1 = 70 years for the economy to double in size. If a country’s economy grows at 2% each year, it will take 70 / 2 = 35 years for it to double in size.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a measure of the total amount of goods and services produced and consumed in the United States. The widest metric of economic production is this. The BEA develops two complimentary GDP measurements, one based on income and the other on expenditures. On the product (income) side, GDP is calculated by summing the labor, capital, and tax costs of creating the output. On the consumption (expenditure) side, GDP is calculated by summing household, business, and government expenditures, as well as net foreign purchases. These two metrics should, in theory, be equal. However, there is frequently a disparity between the two measurements due to data collection issues. To transform output measured at current prices into constant-dollar GDP, the GDP price deflator is used. This information is crucial for determining business cycle peaks and troughs. When the economy is at full employment, total GDP growth of 2.0 percent to 2.5 percent is widely considered to be optimal (unemployment rate around 5 percent ). If the economy is at full employment, more growth leads to faster inflation, while lower growth signals a weak economy. With the 2009 comprehensive revisions, the BEA implemented new naming rules for the three quarterly GDP releases. “Advance estimate,” “second estimate,” and “third estimate” are the titles of the monthly reports. The releases were previously referred to as “advanced,” “preliminary,” and “final.”
Is a higher or lower GDP preferable?
Gross domestic product (GDP) has traditionally been used by economists to gauge economic success. If GDP is increasing, the economy is doing well and the country is progressing. On the other hand, if GDP declines, the economy may be in trouble, and the country may be losing ground.
What will be the GDP in 2021?
In addition to updated fourth-quarter projections, today’s announcement includes revised third-quarter 2021 wages and salaries, personal taxes, and government social insurance contributions, all based on new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program. Wages and wages climbed by $306.8 billion in the third quarter, up $27.7 billion from the previous estimate. With the addition of this new statistics, real gross domestic income is now anticipated to have climbed 6.4 percent in the third quarter, a 0.6 percentage point gain over the prior estimate.
In 2021, real GDP climbed by 5.7 percent, unchanged from the previous estimate (from the 2020 annual level to the 2021 annual level), compared to a 3.4 percent fall in 2020. (table 1). In 2021, all major components of real GDP increased, led by PCE, nonresidential fixed investment, exports, residential fixed investment, and private inventory investment. Imports have risen (table 2).
In 2021, current-dollar GDP climbed by 10.1 percent (revised), or $2.10 trillion, to $23.00 trillion, compared to 2.2 percent, or $478.9 billion, in 2020. (tables 1 and 3).
In 2021, the price index for gross domestic purchases climbed 3.9 percent, which was unchanged from the previous forecast, compared to 1.2 percent in 2020. (table 4). Similarly, the PCE price index grew 3.9 percent, which was unchanged from the previous estimate, compared to a 1.2 percent gain. With food and energy prices excluded, the PCE price index grew 3.3 percent, unchanged from the previous estimate, compared to 1.4 percent.
Real GDP grew 5.6 (revised) percent from the fourth quarter of 2020 to the fourth quarter of 2021 (table 6), compared to a fall of 2.3 percent from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the fourth quarter of 2020.
From the fourth quarter of 2020 to the fourth quarter of 2021, the price index for gross domestic purchases climbed 5.6 percent (revised), compared to 1.4 percent from the fourth quarter of 2019 to the fourth quarter of 2020. The PCE price index grew 5.5 percent, unchanged from the previous estimate, versus a 1.2 percent increase. The PCE price index grew 4.6 percent excluding food and energy, which was unchanged from the previous estimate, compared to 1.4 percent.
In 2021, which country will have the greatest GDP?
What are the world’s largest economies? According to the International Monetary Fund, the following countries have the greatest nominal GDP in the world: