What's not clear is whether the recovery can continue after government supports are gone.
If consumers clam up, the economy could tip back into recession. President Barack Obama recently cautioned that the economy could suffer a "double dip" downturn.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, however, says he doesn't think that will happen. But last week the Fed chief did warn the recovery faces "important headwinds," such as tight credit and a weak job market that will make consumers cautious in their spending.
Those factors "likely will prevent the expansion from being as robust as we would hope," Bernanke said.
Tuesday's report showed that overall consumer spending ? a major shaper of national economic activity ? grew at a pace of 2.9 percent last quarter. That was down from a 3.4 percent growth rate first estimated, but still marked the best showing since early 2007.
On the business side, companies cut back spending on commercial construction ? a weak spot in the economy ? at 15.1 percent annualized pace. That was deeper than the 9 percent annualized cut back first estimated.
Businesses also trimmed stockpiles of goods by $133.4 billion last quarter, slightly more than initially estimated.
And the nation's trade deficit ended up shaving 0.83 percentage point off GDP last quarter, more than first thought.
Unlike past rebounds that were driven by the spending of everyday Americans, this one appears to hinge on spending by businesses, foreigners and ? until it runs out ? the government.
In an encouraging note on that front, businesses after-tax profits grew at a 13.4 percent pace last quarter, up from a 0.9 percent pace in the prior period, Tuesday's report showed.
In 1980, businesses led an economic recovery. It quickly fizzled, and the economy fell into a severe recession in 1981 and 1982. The unemployment rate climbed to 10.8 percent, the post-World War II high.
The government makes three estimates of economic activity for any given quarter. Each is based on more complete data. Tuesday's was the second reading of the third-quarter GDP data.
