The second reading of third quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) showed that the U.S. economy grew by 2.9%. This is an upward revision from the first reading of 2.6% and also better than the 2.7% expected. Note that significant revisions are still possible when the final reading for the third quarter is released on December 22.

What’s the bottom line? GDP functions as a scorecard for the country’s economic health, so the positive reading in the third quarter is a welcome sign after two consecutive negative GDP readings in the first and second quarters of this year.