Final 1Q GDP Reading: U.S. Economy Expands by a Pitiful 1.1%

The Commerce Department said Tuesday its final reading on first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) came in at a meager 1.1%, up slightly from previous estimates. The upward revision showed the U.S. economy grew at slightly more than the previously reported reading of 0.8%, and follows a meager growth rate of 1.4% in the fourth quarter.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected first-quarter GDP growth in the world’s largest economy would be revised up to a 1.0% rate. Despite repeated revisions to the methodology to calculate GDP, which is an effort by the government to paint a rosier economic picture, the economy has underperformed in the first quarter in five of the last six years. In fact, President Barack Obama is on track to become the weakest GDP president in modern history.