Economic Growth Surges To 4.8%

Attendees to a job fair sponsored by the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement file into the Jacob Javits Convention Center Wednesday, April 26, 2006 in New York. The Labor Department will issue unemployment figures on Thursday. (Mark Lennihan - AP)

Nationally, the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline was $2.93 yesterday, up from $2.50 a month ago, according to AAA.

"The surest way to put the brakes on our economic growth would be to raise taxes or spend too much of the people's money here in Washington," Bush said. "That's why I'm going to continue to work with Congress to make the tax relief that helped spur this economic growth permanent . . . [and] to make this country less dependent on foreign sources of oil."

The Commerce Department report said the rate of inflation decreased during the quarter, from 3.7 percent to 2.7 percent. Excluding food and energy, prices increased 3.1 percent.

Disposable personal income -- the amount available for personal spending or saving -- increased 3.8 percent, compared with a 6.7 percent increase in the previous quarter.

The GDP is the broadest statistical measure of U.S. economic activity, gauging the value of spending and investment for all goods and services.

The report represents an advance estimate and is often subject to significant modification as more solid data arrive.

"This remarkable pace was partially catch-up from the 1.7 percent growth posted in the fourth quarter but also reflected fundamental shifts in the sources of demand," said Peter Morici of the University of Maryland's Robert E. Smith School of Business. "Business investment is increasingly the engine pulling the economy forward."

Separately, the Labor Department reported yesterday that total compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.6 percent from December 2005 to March 2006, seasonally adjusted, compared with the 0.8 percent gain from September to December 2005.

The rate of increase for employee benefits slowed, rising 0.5 percent, compared with 0.9 percent in the previous quarter, the Labor Department said. Wages and salaries increased 0.7 percent during the quarter, the same percentage increase as the previous quarter.