Fourth-Quarter GDP Declines 6.2%

The U.S. economy contracted 6.2% in the fourth quarter of 2008, the largest contraction since 1982, the Commerce Department said Friday in its second of three estimates.

The contraction in the gross domestic product followed a 0.5% contraction rate in the third quarter. The back-to-back contractions are the first since 1991, Bloomberg reported.

Commerce last month estimated a 3.8% contraction, and economists’ estimates ranged from declines of 3.8% to 6%, Bloomberg said.

Consumer spending, the biggest part of the economy, fell at a revised 4.3% annual rate, up from the 3.5% estimated last month.