The White House said Wednesday a sharp contracting in the U.S. economy in the January-March quarter shows that recovery from the Great Recession still is in progress, but noted that other indicators for April and May suggest a rebound in the second quarter.
“The recovery from the Great Recession … remains incomplete, and the president will continue to do everything he can to support the recovery, either by acting through executive action or by working with Congress on steps that would boost growth and speed job creation,” said Jason Furman, the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors.
Earlier Wednesday, the Commerce Department for the second time revised lower its first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) report, saying the economy shrank 2.9 percent, much steeper than the 1 percent contraction it estimated a month ago. The department initially said first-quarter GDP increased 0.1 percent.