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EMBARGOED UNTIL RELEASE AT 8:30 A.M. EST, Thursday, January 19, 2017

BEA 17-02

Gross Domestic Product by Industry, 3rd quarter 2016

Finance and Insurance Led Growth in the Third Quarter

Finance and insurance; wholesale trade; and information services were the leading contributors to the increase in U.S. economic growth in the third quarter of 2016. According to gross domestic product (GDP) by industry statistics released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, 20 of 22 industry groups contributed to the overall 3.5 percent increase in real GDP in the third quarter.

Chart of Real GDP and Real Value Added by Sector

For the finance and insurance industry group, real value added—a measure of an industry’s contribution to GDP—increased 9.0 percent in the third quarter, after decreasing 0.1 percent in the second quarter. The third quarter growth primarily reflected increases in Federal Reserve banks, credit intermediation, and related activities, as well as insurance carriers and related activities.
Wholesale trade increased 8.3 percent, after increasing 1.0 percent. This was the largest increase since the third quarter of 2014.
Information services increased 8.6 percent, after decreasing 0.2 percent, primarily reflecting an increase in the broadcasting and telecommunications industries.

Other highlights

Durable goods manufacturing increased 5.1 percent in the third quarter, after increasing 0.3 percent in the second. The third quarter growth primarily reflected increases in motor vehicles, bodies and trailers, and parts manufacturing, as well as computer and electronic products manufacturing.
Retail trade increased 2.6 percent, after decreasing 2.8 percent, primarily reflecting an increase in general merchandise stores.
Administrative and waste management services increased 5.7 percent, after increasing 1.1 percent. The third quarter growth primarily reflected an increase in administrative and support services, which includes industries like employment services and business support services.

Gross output by industry

Real gross output—principally a measure of an industry’s sales or receipts, which includes sales to final users in the economy (GDP) and sales to other industries (intermediate inputs)—increased in the third quarter. This reflected increases in real gross output for both the private goods- and services-producing sectors, as well as the government sector. Overall, real gross output increased in 19 of 22 industry groups.

Real gross output for durable goods manufacturing increased 2.8 percent, after decreasing 2.0 percent in the second quarter.
Information services increased 8.5 percent, after decreasing 2.3 percent. This was the largest increase since the third quarter of 2013.
Finance and insurance increased 3.0 percent, after increasing 6.0 percent. This was the fourth consecutive quarterly increase.

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Next release — April 21, 2017 at 8:30 A.M. EDT for:
Gross Domestic Product by Industry: Fourth Quarter and Annual 2016

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Technical

Thomas Howells

(301) 278-9586

Technical

Edward Morgan

(301) 278-9541

Media

Jeannine Aversa

(301) 278-9003

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industryeconomicaccounts@bea.gov

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Industry Concepts and Methods: Concepts and Methods of the U.S. Input-Output Accounts

Definitions

Gross domestic product (GDP) or value added is the value of the goods and services produced by the nation’s economy less the value of the goods and services used up in production. GDP is also equal to the sum of personal consumption expenditures, gross private domestic investment, net exports of goods and services, and government consumption expenditures and gross investment.

Gross output (GO) is the value of the goods and services produced by the nation’s economy. It is principally measured using industry sales or receipts, including sales to final users (GDP) and sales to other industries (intermediate inputs).

Current-dollar estimates are valued in the prices of the period when the transactions occurred—that is, at “market value.” Also referred to as “nominal estimates” or as “current-price estimates.”

Real values are inflation-adjusted estimates—that is, estimates that exclude the effects of price changes.

Statistical conventions

Seasonal adjustment and annual rates. Monthly and quarterly values are expressed at seasonally-adjusted annual rates (SAAR). Dollar changes are calculated as the difference between these SAAR values. For details, see the FAQ “Why does BEA publish estimates at annual rates?”

Quantities and prices. Quantities, or “real” measures, and prices are expressed as index numbers with a specified reference year equal to 100 (currently 2009). Quantity and price indexes are calculated using a Fisher-chained weighted formula that incorporates weights from two adjacent periods (quarters for quarterly data and annuals for annual data). “Real” dollar series are calculated by multiplying the published quantity index by the current-dollar value in the reference year (2009) and then dividing by 100. Percent changes calculated from chained-dollar levels and quantity indexes are conceptually the same; any differences are due to rounding.

Chained-dollar values are not additive because the relative weights for a given period differ from those of the reference year. In tables that display chained-dollar values, the value of the "Not allocated by industry" line reflects the difference between the first line and the sum of the most detailed lines. For the real value added by industry table, this value also reflects differences in source data used to estimate GDP by industry and the expenditures measure of real GDP.

List of News Release Tables

Table 1. Real Value Added by Industry Group: Percent Change from Preceding Period
Table 2. Contributions to Percent Change in Real GDP by Industry Group
Table 3. Chain-Type Price Indexes for Value Added by Industry Group: Percent Change from Preceding Period
Table 4. Contributions to Percent Change in the GDP Price Index by Industry Group
Table 5. Value Added by Industry Group
Table 5a. Value Added by Industry Group as a Percentage of GDP
Table 6. Real Gross Output by Industry Group: Percent Change from Preceding Period
Table 7. Chain-Type Price Indexes for Gross Output by Industry Group: Percent Change from Preceding Period
Table 8. Gross Output by Industry Group