Statement From U.S. Commerce Under Secretary Rebecca Blank on the Second Estimate of Gross Domestic Product in the Second Quarter of 2009

The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis today released the second estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2009. Real GDP declined at a 1.0-percent annual rate, unchanged from the advance estimate. Most analysts had expected a larger drop of 1.5 percent.

“The economy’s better than expected performance in the 2nd quarter suggests that it is beginning to stabilize,” U.S. Commerce Under Secretary for Economic Affairs Rebecca Blank said. “The Recovery Act and other economic initiatives have put the brakes on the worst economic downturn in generations—but we are not out of the woods yet. Our economic challenges are the result of years of deferred problems, but with every Recovery dollar we spend and project we start, we are one step closer to getting there.”