How much output was lost in the $14 trillion economy?
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I N T H E N E W S
Economy Shrank Last Quarter
WASHINGTON-Signaling what could be the start of a prolonged recession, the government said Thursday that the U.S. economy shrank in the July-September quarter as consumers slashed spending and businesses pulled back. The Commerce Department said gross domestic product, the broadest measure of goods and services produced in the USA, fell at a 0.3% annual rate in the third quarter. Consumer spending, two-thirds of economic activity, plummeted at a 3.1% rate-the steepest fall since 1980. The overall decline was the worst since the 2001 recession