The US economy rebounded sharply in the spring, growing at the fastest pace in more than two years amid brisk consumer spending on autos and other goods.
The Commerce Department says the gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of three per cent in the April-June quarter. It was the best showing since a 3.2 per cent gain in the first quarter of 2015.
The result is a healthy upward revision from the government's initial estimate of 2.6 per cent growth in the second quarter. The growth rate in the January-March quarter was a lacklustre 1.2 per cent.
Improvements in consumer spending, particularly on autos, and business investment powered second-quarter growth. Those revisions offset a bigger drag from spending by state and local governments.
Separately US businesses added a healthy 237,000 jobs in August with broad gains across several industries including construction, manufacturing and leisure and hospitality, according to a private survey.
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Payroll processor ADP says the hiring was spread among large companies with more than 1,000 employees and medium and small firms with fewer than 500 workers.
Manufacturers added 16,000 jobs and builders hired 18,000. The leisure and hospitality sector - which includes restaurants - added 51,000 workers.
The figures indicate that employers still expect the US economy to expand, so they're bolstering their staffs.
