WASHINGTON, Oct 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. economy grew almost 5% in the third quarter, again defying dire warnings of a recession, as higher wages from a tight labor market helped to fuel consumer spending and businesses restocked at a brisk clip to meet the strong demand.
The fastest growth pace in nearly two years reported by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis on Thursday in its advance estimate of third-quarter gross domestic product was also spurred by a rebound in residential investment.
"We've seen for a period of time now a post pandemic induced negative bias about an imminent recession and persistent inflation," said Brian Bethune, an economics professor at Boston College. "But not only is the economy surprisingly resilient, we also got productivity-driven growth for two consecutive quarters in 2023, meaning the business cycle still looks very solid."
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