"Real GDP increased 2.3 percent in 2019… compared with an increase of 2.9 percent in 2018," the bureau said in a statement accompanying the data on Thursday.
The slowdown, the release added, is primarily due to a downturn in exports and decelerations in personal consumption expenditures and nonresidential fixed investment. In addition, imports increased less this year, the report said.
US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in a statement still praised President Donald Trump for the performance and claimed the latest numbers show the administration "continuing to beat expectations."
Ross said Trump’s triumphs included achieving positive growth in the economy despite the financial drain at US plane maker Boeing related to problems with the 737 MAX jet and the strike at automaker General Motors. The president also managed to achieve trade deals such as the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement and the so-called Phase One of the US-China agreement, Ross added.
