National  Economy  Showing  signs  of  2021   recovery

The Gross Domestic Product this spring is nearly at the same level as it was in the months before the Covid-19 shutdown, according to a new report just issued by the Commerce Department.

That report is showing that the GDP grew by a healthy 6.4% between January and March of this year, just a slight 1% less than where it stood in the robust pre-pandemic days of late 2019.

Driving the new numbers is a 4.9% jump in the purchase of goods over late last year; a 2.1% increase in services; and a 1.3% increase in business investment.

The latest Commerce Department numbers, say the Wall Street Journal, are evidence of “what is shaping up to be a rapid, consumer-driven recovery this year.”

Consumer spending in the first quarter of this year, adds the New York Times, is helping to “set the stage for what could be the fastest economic growth in decades.”

A separate set of numbers released by the Commerce Department measures the economic recovery through the prism of filings for jobless benefits. Those numbers reached a historic peak last summer at just below 1.5 million. As of late April, the filings are down to 553,000.

The nation’s unemployment rate has dropped from just under 15% last April, the highest since the depths of the Great Recession, to exactly 6% today.

Economists looking at the Commerce Department figures say they are indicative of the kind of growth that will probably only increase for the rest of 2021.

But those same economists say they worry that the robust growth could cause the economy to overheat, with a measurable increase in consumer prices.

In a statement, Gina Raimondo, the Secretary of Commerce, said, “America is moving forward, but we can’t stop now.”

Raimondo said continued growth will be spurred by “big, bold actions that invest in our families, our workforce, and our infrastructure,” allowing the U.S. to “out-compete on the global stage for decades to come.”

By Garry Boulard

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