Weak GDP Growth of 0.3% in 2nd-Quarter

The economy came to a virtual standstill in the second quarter, the government said, another ominous sign that the terrorist attacks probably pushed the country into recession.

With billions of dollars in lost business forcing thousands of layoffs and dragging down consumer confidence, many economists believe a full-blown downturn is unavoidable.

Gross domestic product, the output of goods and services produced in the United States, grew at an anemic annual rate of just 0.3% in the April-June quarter, the Commerce Department reported. It was the weakest performance in more than eight years.

The new second-quarter figure was slightly higher than a 0.2% estimate of second-quarter growth made a month ago, an improvement the government said came from a slightly better-than-anticipated trade performance.