US real GDP rose in the second quarter at an annual rate of 3.7%, according to a second estimate that revises an earlier, advance estimate of 2.3%, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis reported. The new estimate beat economists’ forecasts and was a bigger improvement over the anemic first quarter.

“After a lackluster start to the year, during which growth averaged just 0.6% annualized, the 3.7% during Q2 is a welcome relief, with both the sheer magnitude of the acceleration and the breadth of the improvement indicating that the US economy is in fact on a solid growth trajectory,” wrote Michael Dolega, senior economist at TD Economics, in a research report.

Bloomberg reports today’s estimate exceeded the median forecast of 79 economists surveyed, which called for a 3.2% gain in GDP. Michael Feroli, chief US economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York, projected 3.4% GDP growth.

“The economy is looking solid,” Feroli told Bloomberg. “There’s a pretty broad-based pickup in domestic demand.”

Jason Furman, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors wrote in a blog post on Whitehouse.gov. “Real GDP growth in the second quarter was revised markedly upward, as consumers spent more and businesses invested more than previously estimated. The economy grew at a much faster pace in the second quarter than in the first, with strong personal consumption leading the rebound.”

Growth in the staffing industry is strongly correlated with GDP growth, according to research from Staffing Industry Analysts.