Real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased at an annual rate of 31.7 percent in the second quarter of 2020, according to the “second” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the first quarter, real GDP decreased 5.0 percent.
The GDP estimate released today is based on more complete source data than were available for the “advance” estimate issued in July. In the advance estimate, the decrease in real GDP was 32.9 percent. With the second estimate, private inventory investment and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) decreased less than previously estimated.
The decrease in real GDP reflected decreases in PCE, exports, nonresidential fixed investment, private inventory investment, residential fixed investment, and state and local government spending that were partly offset by an increase in federal government spending. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, decreased.
The decrease in PCE reflected decreases in services, led by health care, and goods, led by clothing and footwear. The decrease in exports primarily reflected a decrease in goods, led by capital goods. The decrease in nonresidential fixed investment primarily reflected a decrease in equipment, led by transportation equipment. The decrease in private inventory investment primarily reflected a decrease in retail, led by motor vehicle dealers. The decrease in residential investment primarily reflected a decrease in new single-family housing.
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