U.S. GDP decreased at an annual rate of 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008

Latest Measure of the Nation's Economy, Q4 GDP down 3.8 percent, biggest drop since 1982

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the market value of the entire nation’s goods and services produced by labor and property in the United States. (Gross Domestic Product News Release)
GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT: FOURTH QUARTER 2008 (ADVANCE)

Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States -- decreased at an annual rate of 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, (that is, from the third quarter to the fourth quarter), according to advance estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the third quarter, real GDP decreased 0.5 percent.