US economy grew just 1.4% in Q4 2025
The US economy lost some steam at the end of 2025, growing just 1.4% in the last quarter—way down from the previous quarter's 4.4%.
The main reasons? Less government spending and fewer exports, even though people kept spending and businesses kept investing.
The source does not report a full-year 2025 GDP growth figure; a full-year comparison is not provided in the source.
Government shutdown impacted GDP
A big factor was the record 43-day government shutdown in 2025—it knocked about a full percentage point off GDP for the quarter since federal services were paused.
Workers got their back pay later, so there wasn't lasting damage to paychecks, but there was a temporary increase in prices paid for federal employee compensation during that stretch.
What else do the numbers show?
Even with these hurdles, consumer spending and business investment still grew (just not as fast as before).
Imports decreased in the fourth quarter, but by less than in the prior quarter.