American economy shrinks for second straight quarter, tipping toward recession

The federal government announced Thursday the United States' gross domestic product – the broadest measure of the country's economic output – contracted 0.9% in the second quarter, compared to the same time last year, putting the nation's economy officially into recession territory.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis report marks a decline in GDP for the second consecutive quarter.

GDP growth in the first quarter, from January to March, was minus 1.6%.

Ahead of the report Thursday, forecasters surveyed by the data firm FactSet estimated a 0.8% gain for the second quarter, from April to June. 

The report was highly anticipated, considering some economists say GDP contracting for two consecutive quarters signals the country is in a recession.

The Biden administration has been trying to abandon the definition of recession as two consecutive quarters of negative GDP in anticipation of the report Thursday.

The White House has in recent days argued that a recession can be determined based off a "holistic look at the data," such as that shown in the labor market and consumer spending.

"Based on these data, it is unlikely that the decline in GDP in the first quarter of this year – even if followed by another GDP decline in the second quarter – indicates a recession," the White House recently said.