Reporting from Washington - The U.S. economy expanded at an annual rate of 3.5% in the third quarter, unofficially marking the end of the worst recession since World War II.
The growth reported today by the Commerce Department for the three months that ended Sept. 30 snapped four straight quarters of economic contraction and was driven largely by a rebound in consumer spending supported by the federal stimulus package and improved business spending that included a revival of home building.
The increase in the gross domestic product, the total value of goods and services produced in the country, is the evidence most economists have said is needed to declare victory against the recession.
But today's preliminary report doesn't mean the economy is in good shape. Its expansion in the third quarter only partly offsets its dramatic 6% decline last fall and winter. A number of forecasters are predicting weaker expansion in the fourth quarter and in the early part of 2010.
I'm not exactly doing cartwheels over the news but this is certainly a better place to be than say last year when the sky was falling. The main thing with these numbers is that they could easily dip back down and we could see a second leg to the recession if certian things aren't done to the economy. It's still weak in several sectors and I would assume that the average American's confidence in it isn't very high.
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