Fourth quarter US gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2024 came in at 2.3%, below economist expectations of 2.6%.
"We know that our economy is growing slower; this is really a normalization — we’re still feeling kind of those ripple effects post-pandemic, only just getting back on our feet now," ITR Economics economist Lauren Saidel-Baker tells Wealth host Brad Smith. However, she notes leading indicators still point to stable economic growth driven by the consumer.
She also points to one "long-going problem": government spending. "In the very near term, with these relatively higher interest rates, this larger debt burden is certainly accelerating our interest payments portion, so spending can kind of spiral at that point," Saidel-Baker explains.
While there is no specific number at which the economy is meant to grow or slow, Saidel-Baker expects "a slight acceleration" to 3% by the end of 2025.
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