US economy grew at its fastest rate last year since 1984

5.7% growth

US GDP grew at 5.7% last year, its fastest rate since 1984, despite two new virus variants emerging in 2021.

Growth was uneven with the economy growing at 6.9% from October to December, a steep acceleration from growth of just 2.3% in the previous quarter. The growth created 6.4m jobs in 2021, but also saw the highest inflation in 40 years. After shrinking in the first three quarters of 2021, inventories rose at a $173.5bn annual rate in the last quarter, which may alleviate the concerns of supply chains problems that have plagued 2021. Federal Reserve holds interest rates while signalling hike in March Housing fell 0.7% in the last quarter, its third consecutive drop, though it remain...