text: As the debt talks stagnate in D.C., the Commerce Department has just released a gloomy report noting that the nation's gross domestic product rose by a rate of only 1.3 percent in the second quarter and revised the growth figure for the first quarter sharply down. The figures show the U.S. economy slowed to its "weakest pace since the recession ended," says the Associated Press and Reuters calls the rate "tepid." Economists surveyed by the Dow Jones Newswires "expected GDP to rise 1.8% in the second quarter." From The Wall Street Journal: 
   
   The Commerce Department Friday said gross domestic product rose at an annualized seasonally adjusted rate of 1.3% in April through June, while first-quarter growth was revised down sharply to a 0.4% rate from the earlier estimate of a 1.9% gain. A big reason behind the downward revision in first-quarter growth was that the inventory buildup by companies was less than initially estimated, while outlays by the federal government and consumers were also revised down. 
   
   Higher gas prices and reduced consumer spending were cited as culprits for the slower pace of growth. 
   
   Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at ehayden at nationaljournal dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire. 
   
   Erik Hayden ||||| The 2007-2009 recession, already in the record books as the worst in the 66 years since the end of World War II, was even worse than previously thought. 
   
   FILE - In this Jan. 21, 2010 file photo, a crowd of people walk during the morning rush hour in New York. The 2007-2009 recession, already in the record books as the worst in the 66 years since the end... (Associated Press) 
   
   From the start of the recession at the end of 2007 to the end in June of 2009, the U.S. economy shrank 5.1 percent. That is 1 percentage point worse than the previous estimate that the recession reduced total output during that period by 4.1 percent. 
   
   The new estimates emerged from the annual revision of economic data prepared by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis and released Friday. 
   
   Among the previous 10 postwar recessions, output in only two dropped by more 3 percent. In the 1957-58 recession, the economy contracted 3.7 percent. And during the 1973-1975 downturn, the economy fell 3.2 percent from the start of the recession to the end. 
   
   The government attributed the bigger declines in output in part to weaker consumer spending and business investment than previously estimated. 
   
   By year, the government's new figures show that the economy took a much bigger hit in 2009, when output shrank 3.5 percent. The previous estimate had shown a decline of 2.5 percent that year. 
   
   In 2008, the new estimate shows the economy contracted by 0.3 percent. The previous estimate had indicated that output was unchanged for that year compared with 2007. 
   
   The last recession began in December 2007 and lasted until June 2009. Though the economy has been growing since then, growth has been subpar. And the unemployment rate has remained elevated; it's now 9.2 percent. 
   
   The revisions showed that growth in 2010 was a bit stronger than previously estimated. They put growth for all of 2010 at 3 percent, up from a previous estimate that the economy grew 2.9 percent last year. 
   
   The revisions to the country's gross domestic product, the total output of goods and services, used more complete data for such items as consumer and business spending. 
   
   The government's annual revisions are released each July, along with its first estimate of growth for the April-June quarter of the current year.
target: – We already knew the Great Recession was the worst in decades, but in fact we were even worse off than we thought, new figures show. The economy shrank 5.1% over the course of the recession, from 2007 to 2009—1 percentage point worse than the earlier estimate of 4.1%, the AP reports. Only two in the past 10 recessions saw a squeeze of more than 3%. And yes, the economy is now growing—but it expanded only 1.3% from April to June, the Commerce Department said, lower than expected. Officials also revised the growth figure for the first three months of the year to 0.4%, compared to an earlier estimate of 1.9%. That means that the past 6 months have seen the least growth since the end of the recession. Among the reasons: Gas prices, less consumer spending, and smaller government, notes the Atlantic. Combine these figures with the debt ceiling crisis, and it’s “like hearing about the Hindenburg on the day the 6-mile meteor hits the earth,” said a blogger.