U.S. Economy Grew At Revised 3.3 Percent Annually

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The United States economy grew at a surprising revised rate of 3.3 percent annually, according to new figures released by U.S. Commerce Department officials.

Those figures were significantly higher than the Commerce Department's original estimate last month of a 1.9 percent annualized growth rate in gross domestic product (GDP) and it was also better than the average 2.7 percent estimated by Wall Street.

The uptick makes a recession less likely, analysts say.

Observers say that government tax rebates and strong U.S. exports, aided by the weak dollar, fueled the rebound.

But U.S. Federal Reserve officials warned that it was still too early to declare the economy out of the woods yet.

Government figures showed that exports grew at an annualized rate of 13.2%, which was better than the initial government estimate of 9.2 percent, while imports fell at a rate of 7.6 percent because American households are struggling with less money to spend.

Officials are optimistic because of the resultant 3.1 percentage points growth in the GDP, which is the largest since 1980.

But that growth in GDP might not mean much to anyone other than the companies and their owners and stockholders.

Far fewer Americans are employed today by companies that export anything compared to 1980 when a growing middle-class was fueled by jobs that paid a living wage.

A growing number of Americans are either unemployed or underemployed, barely able to pay their basic bills and one pay check away from sliding into poverty.