Second Quarter GDP Comes in at 2.4% & Better Than Expected

Washington, DC…Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.4 percent in the second quarter of 2023 (table 1), according to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the first quarter, real GDP increased 2.0 percent.

The GDP estimate released today is based on source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision by the source agency (refer to “Source Data for the Advance Estimate” on page 2). The “second” estimate for the second quarter, based on more complete data, will be released on August 30, 2023.

The increase in real GDP reflected increases in consumer spending, nonresidential fixed investment, state and local government spending, private inventory investment, and federal government spending that were partly offset by decreases in exports and residential fixed investment. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, decreased (table 2).

The increase in consumer spending reflected increases in both services and goods. Within services, the leading contributors to the increase were housing and utilities, health care, financial services and insurance, and transportation services. Within goods, the increase was led by recreational goods and vehicles as well as gasoline and other energy goods. The increase in nonresidential fixed investment reflected increases in equipment, structures, and intellectual property products. The increase in state and local spending reflected increases in compensation of state and local government employees and gross investment in structures. The increase in private inventory investment reflected increases in both farm and nonfarm inventories.

Compared to the first quarter, the acceleration in GDP in the second quarter primarily reflected an upturn in private inventory investment and an acceleration in nonresidential fixed investment. These movements were partly offset by a downturn in exports, and decelerations in consumer spending, federal government spending, and state and local government spending. Imports turned down.

Current‑dollar GDP increased 4.7 percent at an annual rate, or $305.2 billion, in the second quarter to a level of $26.84 trillion. In the first quarter, GDP increased 6.1 percent, or $391.8 billion (tables 1 and 3).

The price index for gross domestic purchases increased 1.9 percent in the second quarter, compared with an increase of 3.8 percent in the first quarter (table 4). The PCE price index increased 2.6 percent, compared with an increase of 4.1 percent. Excluding food and energy prices, the PCE price index increased 3.8 percent, compared with an increase of 4.9 percent.

Personal Income
Current-dollar personal income increased $236.1 billion in the second quarter, compared with an increase of $278.0 billion in the first quarter. The increase primarily reflected increases in compensation (led by private wages and salaries), personal income receipts on assets (both personal interest income and personal dividend income), rental income of persons, and personal current transfer receipts (led by government social benefits) (table 8).

Disposable personal income increased $248.2 billion, or 5.2 percent, in the second quarter, compared with an increase of $587.9 billion, or 12.9 percent, in the first quarter. Real disposable personal income increased 2.5 percent in the second quarter, compared with an increase of 8.5 percent.

Personal saving was $869.5 billion in the second quarter, compared with $840.9 billion in the first quarter. The personal saving rate—personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income—was 4.4 percent in the second quarter, compared with 4.3 percent in the first quarter.

Source Data for the Advance Estimate
The GDP estimate released today is based on source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision by the source agency. Information on the source data and key assumptions used in the advance estimate is provided in a Technical Note and a detailed “Key Source Data and Assumptions” file posted with the release. The “second” estimate for the second quarter, based on more complete data, will be released on August 30, 2023. For information on updates to GDP, refer to the “Additional Information” section that follows.