"Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 3.0 percent in the second quarter of 2017, according to the ‘second’ estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis," the release stated.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis had anticipated the increase in real GDP would be 2.6 percent. The recent estimate marked the fastest growth in two years, the release said.
According to the Commerce Department, current-dollar GDP has grown 4 percent, equaling $189.0 billion, in the second quarter.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly cited as his goal raising US economic growth at an annual rate of 3 percent after eight years in which former President Barack Obama could not reach this benchmark in any quarter.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has previously stated that GDP growth of 3 percent would be very achievable for the Trump administration though tax and regulatory reforms.
During the 2016 election, then-presidential candidate Trump pledged to bring manufacturing sector jobs back to the United States and focus on improving the country’s economy.
