Economic Indicators, April 2012

Revised national accounts data show GDP contracted by 0.3% in Q4 2011, compared with the previous quarter (revised down from -0.2%). For the year as a whole, the economy expanded by 0.7% in 2011, down from 2.1% in 2010. Real household disposable incomes fell for the second year in succession in 2011; the 1.2% decline was the largest annual decline since 1977. Leading indicators for early 2012 are more positive, with the services sector growing in January and the purchasing managers index for the manufacturing sector at a 10-month high.