By Ireland Owens
U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased at a rate of 0.3% in the first quarter of 2025, according to statistics released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) on Wednesday.
The first quarter decrease follows the U.S. economy growing by 2.4% in the fourth quarter of 2024, after increasing 3.1% in the third quarter, according to the BEA. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s GDPNow, a running estimate of real GDP growth based on available economic data, projected a -2.7% GDP growth rate in the first quarter of 2025.
The report comes after the U.S. added 228,000 jobs in March, significantly beating the 140,000 economists had projected. Meanwhile, inflation cooled slightly in March, with the consumer price index increasing 2.4% and beating economists’ expectations, according to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released on April 10. (RELATED: Harris Faulkner Asks Democrat Why His Party Didn’t Unveil ‘Better Ideas’ When Inflation Skyrocketed Under Biden)
Although President Donald Trump vowed to “make America affordable again” while on the campaign trail, several recent polls have shown Americans souring on Trump’s handling of the economy during his second term. A NPR/PBS News/Marist Poll survey published Tuesday found that just 39% of Americans approve of how Trump has been handling the economy during his second term, while 55% of respondents said they disapprove.
Relatedly, a CNN poll conducted by SSRS released on Monday found that 59% of voters think that Trump’s policies have worsened economic conditions in the country.
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 21: U.S. President Donald Trump appears at a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on January 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump announced an investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and took questions on a range of topics including his presidential pardons of Jan. 6 defendants, the war in Ukraine, cryptocurrencies and other topics. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
