GDP and the Economy

Third Estimates for the Fourth Quarter of 2024

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to the “third” estimate of the National Income and Product Accounts (chart 1 and table 1).1 With the third estimate, real GDP growth was revised up 0.1 percentage point from the “second” estimate issued in February. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 3.1 percent.

Real GDP increased 2.8 percent in 2024 (from the 2023 annual level to the 2024 annual level), compared with an increase of 2.9 percent in 2023 (see “Real GDP 2024”).

The increase in fourth-quarter real GDP primarily reflected an increase in consumer spending that was partly offset by decreases in inventory investment and nonresidential fixed investment. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, decreased (chart 2 and table 1).2

  • The increase in consumer spending reflected increases in both services and goods. Within services, the leading contributors to the increase were health care and “other services.” Within goods, the leading contributors to the increase were motor vehicles and parts, recreational goods and vehicles, and “other nondurable goods.”
    • Within health care, both outpatient services and hospital and nursing home services (notably, hospital services) increased.
    • Within other services, the increase was led by net foreign travel and communication services.
    • The increase in motor vehicles and parts was led by new light trucks.
    • The increase in recreational goods and vehicles was led by video, audio, photographic, and information processing equipment and media.
    • The increase in other nondurable goods was led by recreational items.
  • The decrease in inventory investment was led by a decrease in retail trade.
  • Within nonresidential fixed investment, the decrease was led by equipment. Within equipment, the decrease was led by transportation equipment and computers and peripheral equipment.
  • Within imports, an increase in goods (notably, capital goods, except automotive) was partly offset by a decrease in services (notably, travel).

Compared to the third quarter, the deceleration in real GDP in the fourth quarter primarily reflected downturns in exports and nonresidential fixed investment that were partly offset by an upturn in residential fixed investment and an acceleration in consumer spending. Imports turned down.

Real gross domestic income (GDI)—which measures output of the economy as the costs incurred and the incomes earned in the production of goods and services (as measured by GDP)—increased 4.5 percent at an annual rate in the fourth quarter, compared with an increase of 1.4 percent in the third quarter. The average of real GDP and real GDI—a supplemental measure of U.S. economic activity that equally weights GDP and GDI—increased 3.5 percent, compared with an increase of 2.2 percent.

The third estimate of GDP includes estimates of GDP by industry, or value added—a measure of an industry's contribution to GDP. In the fourth quarter, private goods-producing industries increased 2.3 percent, private services-producing industries increased 2.4 percent, and government increased 2.7 percent (chart 3 and table 2). Overall, 16 of 22 industry groups contributed to the fourth-quarter increase in real GDP (chart 4).

  • Within private goods-producing industries, the increase was led by construction and nondurable-goods manufacturing (mainly chemical products).
  • Within private services-producing industries, the largest contributors to the increase were real estate and rental and leasing (led by real estate); professional, scientific, and technical services; and health care and social assistance (led by ambulatory health care services).
  • The increase in government reflected an increase in state and local government.

Real gross output—principally a measure of an industry's sales or receipts, which includes sales to final users in the economy (GDP) and sales to other industries (intermediate inputs)—increased 1.7 percent in the fourth quarter (chart 5 and table 3). Private goods-producing industries increased 0.3 percent, private services-producing industries increased 2.0 percent, and government increased 3.1 percent. Overall, 17 of 22 industry groups contributed to the increase in real gross output.

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis' (BEA's) featured measure of inflation for the U.S. economy, the price index for gross domestic purchases (goods and services purchased by U.S. residents), increased 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter after increasing 1.9 percent in the third quarter (chart 6 and table 4).

Within gross domestic purchases, food prices increased 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter after increasing 1.3 percent in the third quarter. Prices for energy goods and services decreased 4.2 percent after decreasing 12.6 percent. Excluding food and energy, gross domestic purchases prices increased 2.3 percent after decreasing 2.4 percent.

The price index for personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased 2.4 percent in the fourth quarter after increasing 1.5 percent in the third quarter. The increase in PCE prices reflected an increase in prices for services that was partly offset by a decrease in prices for goods.

  • Within services, increases were widespread. The leading contributors were housing and utilities (mainly housing), financial services and insurance (mainly banking and other financial services), and health care (led by hospitals).
  • Within goods, the leading contributors to the decrease were gasoline and “other energy goods” (mainly motor vehicle fuels, lubricants, and fluids) and recreational goods and vehicles (led by video, audio, photographic, and information processing equipment and media).

Excluding food and energy, the “core” PCE price index increased 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter, following an increase of 2.2 percent in the third quarter.

The increase in fourth-quarter real GDP was revised up 0.1 percentage point from the second estimate. The updated estimates primarily reflected a downward revision to imports, upward revisions to nonresidential fixed investment, exports, and state and local government spending as well as downward revisions to consumer spending and private inventory investment (table 5).

  • Within imports, the revision was led by services, notably, charges for the use of intellectual property and financial services.
  • Within nonresidential fixed investment, the revision reflected an upward revision to structures, led by new commercial and health care structures.
  • For exports, the revision was led by an upward revision to services, mainly charges for the use of intellectual property.
  • Within state and local government spending, the upward revision was led by gross investment in structures, mainly new educational structures.
  • The downward revision to consumer spending reflected a downward revision to services that was partly offset by an upward revision to goods. Within services, the downward revision was led by final consumption expenditures of nonprofit institutions, led by nonprofit hospitals.
  • Within private inventory investment, the downward revision was led by construction, mining, and utilities.

Measured in current dollars, profits from current production (corporate profits with the inventory valuation adjustment (IVA) and the capital consumption adjustment (CCAdj)) increased $204.7 billion, or 5.4 percent at a quarterly rate, in the fourth quarter after decreasing $15.0 billion, or 0.4 percent, in the third quarter (table 6). Profits of domestic financial corporations increased $69.4 billion, profits of domestic nonfinancial corporations increased $53.1 billion, and rest-of-the-world profits increased $82.2 billion.

Industry profits (corporate profits by industry with IVA) increased $209.2 billion, or 5.1 percent at a quarterly rate, in the fourth quarter after decreasing $8.6 billion, or 0.2 percent, in the third quarter (chart 7 and table 7). Domestic profits increased $127.0 billion in the fourth quarter, primarily reflecting an increase in domestic financial industries and manufacturing.

Profits after tax (without IVA and CCAdj)—BEA's profits measure that is conceptually most like the profits for companies in the S&P 500 index—increased $228.4 billion in the fourth quarter after decreasing $10.0 billion in the third quarter.

Real GDP increased 2.8 percent in 2024 (from the 2023 annual level to the 2024 annual level), compared with an increase of 2.9 percent in 2023. The increase in real GDP in 2024 reflected increases in consumer spending, nonresidenial fixed investment, state and local government spending, and exports. Imports increased (chart 8 and table 8).

  • The increase in consumer spending reflected increases in both services and goods. Within services, the leading contributor to the increase was health care (both outpatient services and hospital and nursing home services). Within goods, the leading contributors were other nondurable goods (led by pharmaceuticals) and recreational goods and vehicles (led by information processing equipment).
  • Within nonresidential fixed investment, the increase was led by intellectual property products (mainly software) and equipment (both information processing equipment and transportation equipment).
  • Within state and local government spending, the increase was led by gross investment in structures and compensation of employees.
  • Within exports, both services and goods increased. The increase in services was led by an increase in travel and “other business services.” The increase in goods was led by capital goods, except automotive.

The price index for gross domestic purchases increased 2.4 percent in 2024, compared with an increase of 3.3 percent in 2023. The PCE price index increased 2.5 percent, compared with an increase of 3.8 percent. Excluding food and energy prices, the PCE price index increased 2.8 percent, compared with an increase of 4.1 percent.

Real GDI increased 3.0 percent in 2024 after increasing 1.7 percent in 2023. The average of real GDP and real GDI increased 2.9 percent in 2024, compared with an increase of 2.3 percent in 2023.

For GDP by industry in 2024, private goods-producing industries increased 3.4 percent, private services-producing industries increased 2.8 percent, and government increased 1.9 percent (table 9). Overall, 19 of 22 industry groups contributed to the increase (chart 9).

  • Within private goods-producing industries, the leading contributors were nondurable-goods manufacturing and construction.
  • Within private services-producing industries, the leading contributors to the increase were retail trade; health care and social assistance; and professional, scientific, and technical services.
  • The increase in government reflected an increase in state and local government.

  1. “Real” estimates are in chained (2017) dollars, and price indexes are chain-type measures. Each GDP estimate for a quarter (advance, second, and third) incorporates increasingly comprehensive and improved source data; for more information, see Dennis J. Fixler, Eva de Francisco, and Ian Schaaf, “Revisions to Gross Domestic Product, Gross Domestic Income, and Their Major Components,Survey of Current Business (August 27, 2024). Quarterly estimates are expressed at seasonally adjusted annual rates, which reflect a rate of activity for a quarter as if it were maintained for a year.
  2. In this article, “consumer spending” refers to “personal consumption expenditures,” “inventory investment” refers to “change in private inventories,” and “government spending” refers to “government consumption expenditures and gross investment.”