The real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 6.5% in the second quarter of 2021, according to an advance estimate released Thursday by the U.S. Commerce Department.
The real GDP is now 0.8% higher than in the fourth quarter of 2019, as reported by Reuters, indicating that the economy has made a rapid recovery from the plunge it took at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The second quarter data builds on the progress shown in the first quarter, when real GDP increased similarly by 6.3%, according to a revised estimate included in the report by the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
Current‑dollar GDP increased by 13% at an annual rate, or by $684.4 billion, in the second quarter, to a level of $22.72 trillion, according to the report. This represents an increase from the first quarter, when current-dollar GDP was up 10.9% or $560.6 billion, the report said.
"The increase in real GDP in the second quarter reflected increases in personal consumption expenditures (PCE), nonresidential fixed investment, exports, and state and local government spending that were partly offset by decreases in private inventory investment, residential fixed investment, and federal government spending," the report said. "Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased."
An advance estimate is based on source data that is either not complete or is awaiting revision by an agency, according to the BEA. A revised estimate for the second quarter will be released on Aug. 26, the report said.
As an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. the BEA collects source data, conducts research and analysis, develops and implements estimation methodologies, and disseminates statistics to the public about the performance of the nation's economy, the bureau said on its website. National and local governments, as well as businesses of all sizes, rely on BEA's information as it relates to interest rates, trade policies, taxes, spending, hiring and investments, and more, the agency said.
The information provided by the BEA is nonpartisan, nonpolitical and neutral on policy. The information is independently produced, publicly released on a schedule, and free to access on the bea.gov website, the agency said.