Third-Quarter GDP Fell 0.5%, Commerce Says

The U.S. economy contracted 0.5% in the third quarter, the Commerce Department said Tuesday in its final of three estimates.

The contraction in the gross domestic product — the biggest downturn since 2001 recession — followed a 2.8% growth rate in the second quarter.

Commerce last month estimated a 0.5% contraction, and economists’ estimates ranged from a 0.4% downturn to a 0.8% decline, Bloomberg reported.

Consumer spending, the biggest part of the economy, fell at a revised 3.8% annual rate, up from the 3.7% estimated last month. It marked the first decline since 1991 and the biggest downturn since 1980.