U.S. GDP averaged an annualized growth rate of just under 1% over the first three months of 2013, according to figures released July 31 by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. While the July 31 "preliminary" estimate for the second quarter of this year came in at 1.7%, most BEA GDP figures have been revised down since 2009, when the Great Recession ended. For example, in the July 31 release, BEA slashed more than a half of its first estimate and more than a third of its second estimate of GDP growth for this year's first quarter, changing it to 1.1%.