Contributions to Percent Change in Real GDP by Industry Group, 2023:Q3

 The bar chart illustrates the contribution of various industry groups to the change in the United States' Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the third quarter of 2023.

1. Overall Economic Growth: The header notes that the Real GDP increased by 4.9 percent, indicating a period of economic growth.

2. Leading Contributors:

   • The Retail trade sector is the largest positive contributor to GDP growth, indicating robust consumer spending.
   • The Information sector's high contribution suggests strong performance in technology, telecommunications, and content industries.
   • The Nondurable goods manufacturing, which includes industries like food and beverage, contributed significantly, reflecting stable consumer demand for everyday goods.

3. Services vs. Goods:

   • The chart shows that private services (orange bars) have a more consistent positive impact across various industries compared to private goods (blue bars), with sectors like finance, real estate, and professional services contributing to growth.
   • The services sector's larger share in the positive contributions reflects a modern economy's shift towards a service-oriented structure.

4. Government's Role:

   • Contributions from the government (gray bars) are relatively small compared to private industries. The state and local government have a positive contribution, while the federal government has a slight negative impact, which could be due to reduced spending or budget cuts.

5. Sectors with Negative Impact:

   • Utilities had the most considerable negative impact, which could be due to various factors such as regulatory changes, a decrease in energy consumption (possibly due to increased energy efficiency or a mild season), or price adjustments.
   • Wholesale trade and Other services, except government also show a decline, which might indicate supply chain issues, reduced business-to-business activities, or weaker performance in sectors not directly interfaced with consumers.

6. Economic Indicators:

   • The construction industry's positive contribution reflects ongoing investment in buildings and infrastructure.
   • The positive contributions from Health care and social assistance, and Professional, scientific, and technical services indicate strong demand for health services and professional expertise, perhaps hinting at demographic trends or innovation growth.

7. Economic Health: A large number of industries with positive contributions suggest a healthy and expanding economy, while the few with negative contributions may point to areas of concern or sectors facing specific challenges during this period.

In summary, the chart indicates that the third quarter of 2023 was a period of economic expansion in the U.S., driven primarily by consumer spending in retail, strong performance in information technology and nondurable goods manufacturing, alongside consistent service sector growth. The negative impacts were minimal and confined to a few sectors.

Source: https://www.bea.gov/news/2023/gross-domestic-product-third-estimate-corporate-profits-revised-estimate-and-gdp