Economic Growth Sluggish in First Quarter

Are we in a recession yet? Well, we're certainly in a stagnation. That's what we know from the gross domestic product report released by the Commerce Department, which shows the economy is growing—just at a snail-like pace. Gross domestic product rose 0.6 percent in the first quarter of the year, which is the same as the previous quarter. Consumer spending is one of the main factors holding the economy back. It's at its lowest level in almost seven years, growing by 1 percent after a 2.3 percent increase last quarter. But still, slow growth is a far cry from contraction. The most significant indicator that actually contracted is not surprisingly spending on housing projects, which fell by a whopping 26.7 percent.

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