Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property
located in the United States -- increased at an annual rate of 2.0 percent in the third quarter of 2011 (that
is, from the second quarter to the third quarter) according to the "second" estimate released by the
Bureau of Economic Analysis.  In the second quarter, real GDP increased 1.3 percent.

	The GDP estimates released today are based on more complete source data than were available
for the "advance" estimate issued last month.  In the advance estimate, the increase in real GDP was 2.5
percent (see "Revisions" on page 3).

	The increase in real GDP in the third quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from
personal consumption expenditures (PCE), nonresidential fixed investment, exports, and federal
government spending that were partly offset by negative contributions from private inventory
investment and state and local government spending.  Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation
of GDP, increased.

      The acceleration in real GDP in the third quarter primarily reflected accelerations in PCE and in
nonresidential fixed investment, a smaller decrease in state and local government spending, a
deceleration in imports, and an acceleration in exports that were partly offset by a larger decrease in
private inventory investment.

      Final sales of computers added 0.22 percentage point to the third-quarter change in real GDP
after adding 0.07 percentage point to the second-quarter change.  Motor vehicle output added 0.18
percentage point to the third-quarter change in real GDP after subtracting 0.10 percentage point from the
second-quarter change.

____________
FOOTNOTE.--Quarterly estimates are expressed at seasonally adjusted annual rates, unless otherwise
specified.  Quarter-to-quarter dollar changes are differences between these published estimates.  Percent
changes are calculated from unrounded data and are annualized.  "Real" estimates are in chained (2005)
dollars.  Price indexes are chain-type measures.

      This news release is available on BEAs Web site along with the Technical Note and Highlights
related to this release.  For information on revisions, see "Revisions to GDP, GDI and Their Major
Components."
____________


	The price index for gross domestic purchases, which measures prices paid by U.S. residents,
increased 1.9 percent in the third quarter, 0.1 percentage point less than in the advance estimate; this
index increased 3.3 percent in the second quarter.  Excluding food and energy prices, the price index for
gross domestic purchases increased 1.8 percent in the third quarter, compared with an increase of 2.7
percent in the second.

      Real personal consumption expenditures increased 2.3 percent in the third quarter, compared
with an increase of 0.7 percent in the second.  Durable goods increased 5.5 percent, in contrast to a
decrease of 5.3 percent.  Nondurable goods decreased 0.6 percent, in contrast to an increase of 0.2
percent.  Services increased 2.9 percent, compared with an increase of 1.9 percent.

      Real nonresidential fixed investment increased 14.8 percent in the third quarter, compared with
an increase of 10.3 percent in the second.  Nonresidential structures increased 12.6 percent, compared
with an increase of 22.6 percent.  Equipment and software increased 15.6 percent, compared with an
increase of 6.2 percent.  Real residential fixed investment increased 1.6 percent, compared with an
increase of 4.2 percent.

	Real exports of goods and services increased 4.3 percent in the third quarter, compared with an
increase of 3.6 percent in the second.  Real imports of goods and services increased 0.5 percent,
compared with an increase of 1.4 percent.

	Real federal government consumption expenditures and gross investment increased 1.9 percent
in the third quarter, the same increase as in the second.  National defense increased 4.7 percent,
compared with an increase of 7.0 percent.  Nondefense decreased 3.8 percent, compared with a decrease
of 7.6 percent.  Real state and local government consumption expenditures and gross investment
decreased 1.4 percent, compared with a decrease of 2.8 percent.

	The change in real private inventories subtracted 1.55 percentage points from the third-quarter
change in real GDP after subtracting 0.28 percentage point from the second-quarter change.  Private
businesses decreased inventories $8.5 billion in the third quarter, following increases of $39.1 billion in
the second quarter and $49.1 billion in the first.

	Real final sales of domestic product -- GDP less change in private inventories -- increased 3.6
percent in the third quarter, compared with an increase of 1.6 percent in the second.


Gross domestic purchases

	Real gross domestic purchases -- purchases by U.S. residents of goods and services wherever
produced -- increased 1.5 percent in the third quarter, compared with an increase of 1.0 percent in the
second.


Gross national product

	Real gross national product -- the goods and services produced by the labor and property
supplied by U.S. residents -- increased 2.1 percent in the third quarter, compared with an increase of 2.2
percent in the second.  GNP includes, and GDP excludes, net receipts of income from the rest of the
world, which increased $3.5 billion in the third quarter after increasing $28.0 billion in the second; in the
third quarter, receipts decreased $11.0 billion, and payments decreased $14.5 billion.


Current-dollar GDP

	Current-dollar GDP -- the market value of the nation's output of goods and services -- increased
4.6 percent, or $168.1 billion, in the third quarter to a level of $15,180.9 billion.  In the second quarter,
current-dollar GDP increased 4.0 percent, or $145.0 billion.


Gross domestic income

      Real gross domestic income (GDI), which measures the output of the economy as the costs
incurred and the incomes earned in the production of GDP, increased 0.4 percent in the third quarter
after increasing 0.2 percent in the second.  For a given quarter, the estimates of GDP and GDI may differ
for a variety of reasons, including the incorporation of largely independent source data.  However, over
longer time spans, the estimates of GDP and GDI tend to follow similar patterns of change.


Revisions

	The second estimate of the third-quarter increase in real GDP is 0.5 percentage point, or $15.0
billion, lower than the advance estimate issued last month, primarily reflecting downward revisions to
private inventory investment, to nonresidential fixed investment, and to personal consumption
expenditures that were partly offset by a downward revision to imports.


                                                  Advance Estimate        Second Estimate
                                                  (Percent change from preceding quarter)

Real GDP..........................................       2.5                   2.0
Current-dollar GDP................................       5.0                   4.6
Gross domestic purchases price index..............       2.0                   1.9




                                           Corporate Profits

      Profits from current production (corporate profits with inventory valuation and capital
consumption adjustments) increased $39.8 billion in the third quarter, compared with an increase of
$61.2 billion in the second quarter.  Current-production cash flow (net cash flow with inventory
valuation adjustment) -- the internal funds available to corporations for investment -- increased $39.6
billion in the third quarter, compared with an increase of $86.2 billion in the second.

	 Taxes on corporate income decreased $5.6 billion in the third quarter, compared with a decrease
of $1.8 billion in the second.  Profits after tax with inventory valuation and capital consumption
adjustments increased $45.5 billion in the third quarter, compared with an increase of $63.0 billion in
the second.  Dividends increased $13.3 billion, compared with an increase of $13.6 billion; current-
production undistributed profits increased $32.2 billion, compared with an increase of $49.3 billion.

	Domestic profits of financial corporations increased $16.0 billion in the third quarter, in contrast
to a decrease of $54.2 billion in the second.  Domestic profits of nonfinancial corporations increased
$17.4 billion in the third quarter, compared with an increase of $80.8 billion in the second.  In the third
quarter, real gross value added of nonfinancial corporations decreased, and profits per unit of real value
added increased.  The increase in unit profits reflected an increase in unit prices that was partly offset by
increases in both unit labor and nonlabor costs.

	The rest-of-the-world component of profits increased $6.4 billion in the third quarter, compared
with an increase of $34.6 billion in the second.  This measure is calculated as (1) receipts by U.S.
residents of earnings from their foreign affiliates plus dividends received by U.S. residents from
unaffiliated foreign corporations minus (2) payments by U.S. affiliates of earnings to their foreign
parents plus dividends paid by U.S. corporations to unaffiliated foreign residents.  The third-quarter
increase was accounted for by a smaller decrease in receipts than in payments.

	Profits before tax increased $30.9 billion in the third quarter, compared with an increase of $13.5
billion in the second.  The before-tax measure of profits does not reflect, as does profits from current
production, the capital consumption and inventory valuation adjustments.  These adjustments convert
depreciation of fixed assets and inventory withdrawals reported on a tax-return, historical-cost basis to
the current-cost measures used in the national income and product accounts.  The capital consumption
adjustment decreased $4.0 billion in the third quarter (from $107.3 billion to $103.3 billion), compared
with a decrease of $8.1 billion in the second.  The inventory valuation adjustment increased $13.1
billion (from -$60.4 billion to -$47.3 billion), compared with an increase of $55.6 billion.



                                       *          *          *

     BEA's national, international, regional, and industry estimates; the Survey of Current Business; and
BEA news releases are available without charge on BEA's Web site at www.bea.gov.  By visiting the
site, you can also subscribe to receive free e-mail summaries of BEA releases and announcements.



                                       *          *          *



                      Next release -- December 22, 2011, at 8:30 A.M. EST for:
                    Gross Domestic Product:  Third Quarter 2011 (Third Estimate)
                          Corporate Profits:  Third Quarter 2011 (Revised)



Release dates in 2012


Gross Domestic Product

                    2011: IV and 2011 annual        2012: I         2012: II          2012: III

Advance...               January 27             April 27        July 27           October 26
Second....               February 29            May 31          August 29         November 29
Third.....               March 29               June 28         September 27      December 20


Corporate Profits

Preliminary...            ...                    May 31         August 29         November 29
Revised.......            March 29               June 28        September 27      December 20