The U.S. economy grew by 2 percent in the third quarter, with the Delta variant and supply chain crisis hurting gains.
The pace marked a sharp decrease from the gains seen earlier in the year. The GDP soared at a 6.3 percent rate in the first quarter and 6.7 percent in the second quarter with the reopening of businesses thanks to the vaccine, per the Wall Street Journal.
However, those drivers dissipated from July to September, with a surge in virus cases and the supply chain crisis.
The Commerce Department’s third-quarter GDP estimate released Thursday said consumer spending rose at an annual rate of 1.6 percent in the third quarter, a dramatic slowdown from the second quarter 12 percent increase.
