AdvertisementFederal government spending and investment, clobbered by the shutdown, plunged at a 16.7% rate, hacking 1.16 percentage points off fourth-quarter growth. For all of 2025, GDP grew 2.1%, solid but down from an initial estimate of 2.2% and from 2.8% in 2024 and 2.9% 2023. In the fourth quarter, consumer spending grew at a 2% clip, down from 3.5% in the third quarter and the 2.4% the government had initially estimated. This category includes consumer spending and private investment, but excludes volatile items like exports, inventories and government spending. “Following two consecutive strong readings for the second and third quarters, the economy was expected to soften heading into year-end.

Source: Huffington Post March 13, 2026 18:09 UTC