U.S. Economy Grew at 4.2% in Second Quarter, Government Says

The U.S. economy expanded at an annual rate of 4.2% in the first quarter of 2003, the Commerce Department said in a report released Thursday.

In giving its quarterly update of the gross domestic product, Commerce said that consumer spending, government investment and business spending all rose in the first three months of the year.

Consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of GDP and is a major indicator of demand for trucking services, rose 3.8%, the report said.

The overall increase follows a 4.1% increase in GDP during the last quarter of 2003 and an 8.2% surge in the 2003 third quarter. Bloomberg reported that analysts had expected GDP to rise 5% in the first quarter.

Adjusted for inflation, GDP, which measures the value of all the goods and services produced in the United States, totaled $10.71 trillion in the first quarter.

The increasing economic activity has begun to impact the labor market, reflected by a drop of 18,000 in weekly initial jobless claims in the week ended April 17, according to the Labor Department. The fourth drop in five weeks put the total at 338,000.

The four-week moving average, a more stable indicator of the labor market, fell 1,250 to 346,500, Labor reported.