Mass. economy grows far faster than US’s

The Massachusetts economy grew at more than double the rate of the nation’s between April and June, with a big boost from increases in consumer and business spending, according to the University of Massachusetts and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

The state’s gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 5.4 percent, compared to the US gross domestic product increase of 2.3 percent, according to the US Department of Commerce, which reported it Thursday.

The state’s solid economic expansion signals a rebound from the winter weather-induced slowdown in the first quarter. “Robust growth in employment and spending” accounted for the growth, according to the report, published in the UMass economics journal MassBenchmarks.

The Massachusetts unemployment rate has also fallen faster than the nation’s, dropping from 4.8 percent in March to 4.6 percent in June, while the US unemployment rate declined from 5.5 percent to 5.3 percent during the same period.

Consumers and businesses opened their wallets, with spending on goods that are subject to the state’s sales tax and motor vehicle sales tax increasing by a “whopping” 19.3 percent, the report said. Spending increased just 1.8 percent between January and March.

The report also noted that the strong dollar, combined with sluggish economic growth in Europe and slowing growth in China, slowed state and national exports. Massachusetts merchandise exports fell 14 percent in the first five months of this year compared to a year ago. US merchandise exports were down 5.2 percent during the same period.