The government’s main measures of US growth pointed in different directions in the first half of 2022, adding to the ongoing debate on the health of the economy.
Inflation-adjusted gross domestic product, or the total value of all goods and services produced in the economy, decreased at a 0.6% annualized rate in the April to June period, Commerce Department data showed Thursday. That reflects an upward revision to consumer spending and compares with a previously reported 0.9% contraction.
However, the other, lesser-known official measure of economic growth -- known as gross domestic income -- climbed at a 1.4% rate in the second quarter after increasing 1.8% in the first three months of the year. It measures activity by calculating all income generated from producing those goods and services, like compensation and company profits.
Theoretically, GDP and GDI should be roughly equal, but in reality, they tend to differ, especially in early estimates. But the current gap is particularly large.
The GDP figures suggest an abrupt slowdown in economic momentum in the first half of the year. Under the surface, there’s more at play, including the impact of volatile categories like imports and inventories, but overall, consumer spending has decelerated. The back-to-back negative quarters, a common rule of thumb for recessions, have not only fueled fears of an imminent downturn but also led some to believe it was already under way.
GDI, however, points to a more gradual cooling. It paints a picture of an economy supported by a robust labor market and resilient consumer spending, though one that’s starting to feel the pinch of the worst inflation in a generation.
Recession Arbiter
The official arbiter of recessions in the US, the National Bureau of Economic Research’s Business Cycle Dating Committee, uses the average of both measures, along with a range of other economic variables, when making its recession call. The average of GDP and GDI rose 0.4% in the second quarter after a 0.1% increase in the January to March period.
Separately on Thursday, a report showed applications for US unemployment benefits fell for a second week, suggesting that employers are holding on to workers despite growing economic uncertainty.
Consumer spending, which accounts for the majority of the economy, expanded an upwardly revised 1.5%. That compares with a previously reported 1% gain.
Thursday’s report also included the government’s initial estimates of corporate profits in the second quarter. Adjusted pretax corporate profits increased 6.1% from the prior quarter -- the fastest pace in a year -- after falling 2.2% in the first three months of the year. Profits are up 8.1% from a year earlier.