151 the us economy grew 12 percent between april and june the commerce department said today far below forecasts economists were expecting growth of about 26 percent this is the third consecutive quarter of sluggish growth the government also revised down growth in the first quarter of the year to 08 percent from 11 percent todays report underscores that there is more work to do and the president will continue to take steps to strengthen economic growth and boost living standards jason furman chairman of the white house council of economic advisers said in a statement released by the white house a slowdown in housing construction and inventory led to the decline personal consumption increased at an annualized rate of 42 percent in the second quarter according to the commerce department compared to 16 percent from january to march consumption accounts for about 70 percent of us economic activity i think the main message is that despite the disappointment at the headline level we dont seed much new in this report barclays chief us economist michael gapen told abc news the most important number in this report continues to be the strength of personal consumption he said strong consumption suggested the household is doing fine despite slow overall growth todays gdp report was an estimate and could be revised by officials