The second reading remained identical to the same rate recorded in the first reading for the growth of the world's largest economy during the second quarter of this year.

In the first quarter, the U.S. economy grew by 2 percent.

The U.S. economy and labor market have shown great resilience, despite the Federal Reserve raising interest rates significantly to combat inflation, which last year reached a four-decade high.

The Fed has raised its benchmark interest rate 11 times since mid-March 2022, leading to concerns that higher borrowing rates will lead to a recession.

However, inflation has so far fallen without causing much economic pain, raising hope that the central bank will be able to implement the so-called soft landing, meaning the economy is slowing enough to overcome high inflation without causing a painful recession.

Economists have forecast U.S. gross domestic product will grow by about 3.2 percent in the third quarter, which would be the fastest quarterly growth in a year.

More optimistic estimates suggest that July-September growth could exceed 4 percent, according to the Atlanta Federal Reserve.

However, growth is unlikely to continue accelerating, as the economy is expected to weaken in the last three months of the year, and employment and income growth slows.

Economists also believe that the savings that many Americans collected during the COVID-19 pandemic from federal stimulus packages will evaporate by the next quarter.

The U.S. economy also faces a host of obstacles expected to hamper growth, including rising oil prices, the resumption of student loan payments, the effects of a motor worker strike and a possible government shutdown starting this weekend.