Real gross domestic product under Harry S. Truman

The total output of the U.S. economy, with inflation taken out — the broadest single measure of economic activity.

Over 1945-04-12 to 1953-01-19, measured in Billions of Chained 2017 Dollars:

Term average

2,452 Billions of Chained 2017 Dollars

At the start

— Billions of Chained 2017 Dollars

At the end

— Billions of Chained 2017 Dollars

Change

— Billions of Chained 2017 Dollars

Low

2,172.43 Billions of Chained 2017 Dollars (1947-07-01)

High

2,896.81 Billions of Chained 2017 Dollars (1953-01-01)

Coverage

80% (25 observations)

Reading this series over a presidential term

A level that rises with population and productivity, so compare terms by annualized percent change rather than by average level. Quarterly data gives a four-year term about sixteen points.

GDP counts production that passes through a market. It says nothing about who receives the income, does not count unpaid household or volunteer work, treats spending to repair damage as output, and is revised for years — first the monthly vintages, then annual updates, then comprehensive revisions that can reshape a whole decade.

These are the observed values over the window above, and nothing more. This site does not say which direction is better, and none of this is a claim that Harry S. Truman caused the number to move.

What Real gross domestic product measures · Harry S. Truman: the whole record · Chart it · Compare with another president · The source at FRED