US economy grew by 6.4% in first quarter as experts predict post-Covid boom

Forecasters are predicting the US to experience its best economic boom in at least 40 years (Picture: AFP)

The US economy grew by 6.4% in the first three months of the year as forecasters predict the biggest surge in spending for almost 40 years.

The Commerce Department announced the economic boom on Thursday and say it’s largely down to strong consumer spending.

America’s rise in gross domestic product (GDP), the country’s total output of goods and services, in quarter one of 2021 came after growth of 4.3% in the fourth quarter of last year.

Economists believe the rate of growth will accelerate once again according to current April-June forecasts to an annual rate of 10% or better. For the whole year, the economy is expected to grow by around 7%.

Guests pictured wearing protective masks during the reopening of the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California, as the majority of US businesses fully re-open (Picture: Bloomberg/Getty)

If that happens it would make 2021 the best year for economic growth since a 7.2% surge in 1984, a year the economy was emerging from a deep recession.

Some analysts also believe the growth could surpass the 1984 mark and come in around 7.7% this year.

If the economic growth passes that mark then this year would be the best economic performance America has seen since 1951.

The re-bounding economy has been helped in part by the fact that since January, more than 1,572,000 jobs were added to the country’s workforce, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

That figure is the most jobs created in the first 100 days of any presidency since records began in 1939.

America’s bounce back is substantially greater than that of countries in the eurozone, where GDP dropped by 0.6% in the first three months of 2021.

Many European countries, including the UK have had to re-impose Covid restrictions in 2021 following a renewed surge in infections, which has had an impact on businesses.

The US, meanwhile, has largely steamed ahead with re-opening almost all businesses. In many states mask mandates have been ditched and places like Walt Disney World Resort have re-opened without the enforcement of things like social distancing measures.

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