US economy surges 33.1% in Q3, biggest gain on record

[WASHINGTON] After the worst downturn on record, the US economy posted the strongest recovery on record as it expanded at a 33.1 per cent annual rate in the third quarter, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

That came after a 31.4 per cent drop in the April-June period during the worst of the pandemic, and a five per cent drop in the first quarter. The annual rate is a measure that shows the full-year result if the gain in a single quarter were translated over 12 months.

However, compared to the July-September of 2019, the third quarter contracted 2.9 per cent after falling 9.0 per cent year-over-year in the second quarter, according to the data.

AFP