U.S. GDP Falls at a 1.4% Pace to Start 2022
Posted on 04/28/2022
U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) unexpectedly declined at a 1.4% annualized pace in the first quarter of 2022, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. GDP measures the output of goods and services in the U.S. and is the broadest measure of economic activity. The negative growth rate missed surprised the Dow Jones estimate of a 1% gain for the quarter. Surging inflation at a level not seen since the early 1980s has impacted the U.S consumer and economy. Much of the decline was due to a decrease in inventory investment. This is the worst GDP performance since the COVID-19 pandemic recession in the second quarter of 2020. For the first time in over 40 years, the U.S. economy is facing stagflation in 2023 and 2024 as the Federal Reserve tries to get a handle on inflation.
There was a 6.9% GDP gain in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Raging inflation is the cruelest tax of all, since it hits the world’s lower-income people the hardest because they spend most of their income on food, energy, housing and other necessities with soaring prices.