The nation’s gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 2.1% in the third quarter, slightly above the prior estimate of 2%, according to the second reading from the Bureau of Economic Analysis released Wednesday.

Coupled with a report showing the number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment fell dramatically to 199,000 last week – a number not seen since November, 1969 – the news is likely to cheer markets and the White House, which is battling negative perceptions on the economy, driven largely by rising inflation and shortages of key goods and materials.

Meanwhile, a measure of inflation closing followed by the Federal Reserve was unchanged in the second estimate issued Wednesday.

The economy continues to register a strong performance in the fourth quarter following a slowdown in the third quarter brought on by the stubbornness of the delta variant of the coronavirus, worries over inflation and shortages of labor and key materials. Some of those pressures appear to be easing, while consumers have continued spending even while saying they are more pessimistic about the economy.

The Week in Cartoons Nov. 22-26



“Real GDP is expected to top 5% in 2021,” Natixis CIB economists Troy Ludtka and Joe LaVorgna wrote on Tuesday. “This would be its best showing since 1984.”

President Joe Biden cited the improving economy in remarks Tuesday ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

“We’re experiencing the strongest economic recovery in the world,” Biden said. “Even after accounting for inflation, our economy is bigger and our families have more money in their pockets than they did before the pandemic. America is the only major economy in the world that can say that.”

Nonetheless, polls show Americans are not thankful about the economy this year, especially rising inflation and supply chain shortages, and have pointed the finger of blame at Biden. In response, the Biden White House has been stepping up its messaging on the economy and taking actions to quell inflation, such as announcing a planned release of oil from the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an effort to dampen gasoline prices.