U.S. economic growth was 1.7 percent in the last quarter, capping a strong year.

The nation's economy grew by 1.7 percent in the final three months of the year, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

The gross domestic product is the broadest measure of goods and services produced. The increase for the quarter was 6.9 percent.

The economic expansion was 5.7 percent, the biggest since 1984 and an impressive feat, but one that also reflects the damage done by the coronaviruses the year before.

Cheap credit conditions and additional rounds of federal aid helped revive consumer spending and private investment. The labor market has recovered almost 19 million of the 22 million jobs that were lost due to the virus.

The Federal Reserve is planning to use its policy tools in the coming months to rein in inflation, as the initial momentum provided by government stimulus and the post-vaccine resurgence fades further. The Omicron variant is expected to be a drag on the economy in January and February. As the variant fades and the spring approaches, activity should return to normal.

Fiscal and monetary policy was committed to supporting the economy aggressively during the swine flu epidemic, and it worked, according to a former Federal Reserve economist.

The Congressional Budget Office predicted in February that it would take until 2024 to reach the current unemployment rate of 3.9 percent, down from a peak of 14.7% in April 2020.

The economic recovery has been overshadowed by high inflation. Consumer price increases increased from 7 percent in the year through December to 8 percent in the spring.

The Labor Department reported that import prices were higher in December than a year earlier. Many businesses, large and small, are preparing for such supply chain issues to stretch beyond the summer, which is bad news for workers whose wages have grown at the fastest pace in decades, while their purchasing power has been hurt by costlier goods.

The percentage change is in.

Domestic product.

Since the last quarter.

Before the outbreak of the swine flu.

The percentage change is in.

Domestic product.

Since the last quarter.

The epidemic.

According to a Gallup survey, only 29 percent of Americans think the economy is improving, while 67 percent think it is getting worse.

It is a good time to find a quality job.

Allison Schrager is an economist and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank. The decision to deliver too much aid rather than too little was made by policymakers in Washington. She said that if there had been less stimulation, inflation wouldn't be as bad.

bottlenecks and supply constraints are limiting how quickly production can respond to higher demand in the near term, according to the Fed chair.

Ellen Zentner, a managing director and the chief U.S. economist at Morgan Stanley, said that the spring months are a crucial pivot point as analysts ponder the direction and degree of price increases this year. The first stable year-over-year comparisons that experts will have seen in three years will be provided by the Consumer Price Index reports in March and April of this year.

The hope is that it will change as we get into the second quarter. It doesn't drag on further into the year.

Families with a combined 140 million households have reported that their finances are better off than before the Pandemic. Bank of America said its customers spent a record $3.8 trillion in 2021, a 24 percent jump from 2019. Consumption could be curbed by price increases along with any new coronaviruses.

Although factory production was up 3.5 percent in December from a year earlier, manufacturing output fell by 0.3 percent, a weaker showing than most forecasts. The Omicron variant appears to be extending manufacturers' struggles with finding consistent labor, as infections drive absences. With businesses outbidding one another to get to the front of the line for supply parts that make up their finished products, materials shortages for hard-to-source components, such as computer chips, also remain a problem.

The U.S. growth forecast by the International Monetary Fund has been reduced by 1.2 percentage points due to tighter Fed policy and an anticipated halt to any furtherStimulus spending by Congress.