NEW YORK, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. real GDP expanded at an annualized rate of 4.3 percent in the third quarter of 2025, marking the strongest growth since the third quarter of 2023, according to an initial estimate released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The figure exceeded economists' expectations of around 3.2 percent and was also higher than the 3.8 percent growth in the second quarter.

Nevertheless, investment and imports declined in the third quarter, reflecting the continued impact of tariffs.

As the growth was gained before the federal government shutdown, the U.S. economy is unlikely to maintain such momentum in the final months of 2025, some analysts hold.

The initial estimate follows other recent data releases that show a mixed picture of the U.S. economy. The U.S. Labor Department reported earlier that the unemployment rate in November 2025 rose to 4.6 percent, the highest level since September 2021. ■