U.S. GDP grows 6.4% in first quarter

As more states began to reopen during first quarter 2021, anticipated pent-up demand showed up in force and the U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 6.4 percent, according to an analysis by Dodge Data & Analytics.

Significantly more people began to be vaccinated in the first quarter encouraging state and local governments to begin to ease restrictions on activities, and life slowly began to return to a new normal. In addition, COVID-19 stimulus checks and enhanced unemployment compensation were distributed in the first quarter and, combined with growing employment and a robust stock market, gave consumers the confidence to spend. Consumer spending, in fact, grew at an annualized 10.7 percent in the first quarter. Excluding last year’s third quarter (which saw an astounding bounceback following the second quarter’s steep drop), this was the strongest quarterly growth rate for consumer spending since 1965.

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