The US’s third-quarter GDP growth obscures a slowdown in the economy

Here’s a look at the parts of the economy that are slowing down:

Consumers are cutting back

The rebound in consumer spending a few months into the pandemic has been fading over the past few quarters. Consumer spending on goods dropped down for the second quarter in a row, by 1.2%.

Spending on services is stronger—it grew by 2.8% in the third quarter. Still, that coincides with the slowest pace of growth in two years for the sector.

Investment slowdown

Meanwhile, US gross domestic investment dropped by 8.5% as the housing industry pulled back and retailers adjusted their inventories due to overstock as supply chain backlogs have eased.

So while the overall GDP figure shows a growth, it may only be temporary.