US gross domestic product grew at a robust rate in the first quarter of 2019, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said in its latest report on the American economy, released Friday.
The rate is a first estimate, and it may be revised as more data comes in over the next few weeks. It would have been even stronger, the BEA concluded, without the government shutdown — which subtracted 0.3 percentage points from growth in the first quarter rate. Federal spending was flat, since a rise in military spending was offset by a decline in non-defense spending.
The contribution from state and local government spending came largely as a result of highway and road construction, which localities have taken on while waiting for an infrastructure package from the federal government.
