It’s a sign of the times: the quarter that brought the sharpest GDP drop in 26 years actually beat expectations.
According to figures released Friday by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the gross domestic product of the United States dropped 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter, its biggest drop since 1982. By comparison, the previous quarter posted a contraction of just .5 percent.
However, according to the Associated Press, the number was actually not nearly as bad as the 5.4 percent contraction that some economists had predicted.
The performance was attributed mostly to the continuing credit, banking and housing crises, which have left consumers with less value in their homes and less money in their pockets.
