Growth slower than expected

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. economy expanded at a slower-than-expected 3.1 percent annual rate in the third quarter, restrained by a wider trade deficit and a decline in commercial construction. The strongest pace of consumer spending this year accounted for almost all of the increase.

The rise in gross domestic product, the total value of all goods and services produced in the nation, followed a 1.3 percent rate in the second quarter, the Commerce Department reported today.

archive