Economic Growth Due to Increases in Jobs, Incomes, and Spending Today, the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported fourth quarter real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 exceeding expectations. Growth was in large part due to an increase in Americans making and spending more. In addition, the economy...

Thank you for that introduction. Welcome, everyone, to the Commerce Department. And thank you all for your willingness to serve on this commission. America’s growing and vibrant Hispanic communities are a driving force in our economy. I saw it firsthand during my time as Governor of Rhode Island, where the Hispanic population grew by nearly 40 percent in the last decade. More than 375,000 of our...

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded NOAA $5 million to support the conversion of the Mauna Loa atmospheric baseline observatory in Hawaii to a net-zero carbon facility. The award, part of $250 million in funding announced by DOE’s Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies (AFFECT) program, will help NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory purchase solar panels and...

NOAA’s satellites, known for their pivotal role in tracking weather and climate, were behind the rescue of 350 people from harrowing, life-threatening ordeals in the U.S. and its surrounding waters in 2023. NOAA’s polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites are part of the global Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking system, or COSPAS-SARSAT, which uses a network of U.S. and international...

As we welcome 2024, we have compiled a list of the top stories which not only generated the most attention in 2023, but also encompassed the Commerce Department’s mission to create conditions for economic growth and opportunity for all Americans. These stories reflect many of Commerce’s top priorities and accomplishments for the year including bringing affordable, reliable high-speed Internet...

By Oliver Wise, Sallie Ann Keller, and Victoria Houed In the past year, the explosion of generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in the public consciousness has created both excitement and trepidation. GenAI has the potential to change how we work, learn, play, and consume information. In response to this technology - and leaning into the momentum driven by the Executive Order on the Safe...

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo today announced a nationwide schedule of key export promotion events—ranging from in-person local events to trade missions around the world—to advance export opportunities for diverse businesses. These programs are made available to U.S. businesses through Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA) and its export promotion arm, the U.S. Commercial...

Today, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo met with Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Kamikawa Yoko. During the meeting, Secretary Raimondo expressed her condolences to Japan and the families of the victims of the New Year’s Day earthquake and reiterated President Biden’s commitment to supporting Japan and the Japanese people to recover from this tragedy. The two also discussed the successful...