The Department of Commerce announced today that the U.S. economy grew at a 2.5 percent annual rate in the third quarter, according to Bloomberg.

The increase in gross domestic product is up from a 2 percent estimate last month and a 1.7 percent rise in the second quarter.

Gains in earnings are giving corporations the option to hire, but the pace of growth is too slow to bring down the jobless rate, which is sitting just below 10 percent, in response, the Federal Reserve has decided to inject more money into the economy.

“This is still, by the standards of history, only a half-speed expansion,” said Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at CIBC World Markets in Toronto, in an interview with Bloomberg.

Today’s figure showed larger-than-estimated gains in exports, consumer spending and business investment in new equipment.