Gross domestic product (GDP), which estimates the size of the US economy, grew at an annualized rate of 6.5% in the second quarter of 2021. This growth fell below projections of economic growth nearing 8% — like those of the Atlanta Federal Reserve and the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's survey of professional forecasters — but above projections by the New York Federal Reserve and others. The annualized GDP growth rate measures how much the economy would grow in a year if the quarterly place of growth were maintained for 12 months.
GDP grew 1.6% from the first quarter of the year in inflation-adjusted terms. Growth in the second quarter was largely driven by an increase in consumer spending, with spending on services growing at nearly three times the rate that it did last quarter. Domestic investment and government spending both fell from the first quarter of the year, slightly bringing down the growth rate.
