Consumer Spending Lifts Q3 GDP, but Savings Rates Are Pressured

In the latest and final revision of how the economy fared in the third quarter — through the growth in gross domestic product — the headline is that growth was healthy.

GDP was better than expected, and it’s almost always the case that GDP’s direction rests firmly on the shoulders of U.S. consumers’ spending, which accounts for roughly 70% of the figure.

GDP increased at a 3.1% annualized pace in the third estimate by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, up from the second estimate...