The four-quarter losing streak is over – but is it over for good?

The United States’ gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 3.5 percent in the third quarter, which ended a four-quarter streak of declines and beat analysts’ forecasts, the government announced today. It was the first time in history that the economy declined four straight quarters.

GDP is a broad measure of the nation’s economy that measures what individuals, businesses and the government spend and the net impact of the nation’s imports and exports.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had projected 3.2 percent growth in GDP, according to a CNNMoney.com report. GDP began its decline in the third quarter of 2008, with the most severe drop being 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2009.

The GDP’s all time low happened during the Great Depression, when it declined 29 percent. Since World War II, declines have never been greater than 10 percent. The current recession, which began in December 2007, is one of the worst in our country’s history, according to the report.

Despite the return to growth, The National Bureau of Economic Research, which officially dates the beginning and end of recessions, likely won’t make a declaration that this recession has ended until sometime in 2010, according to the report.

Economists, however, are wary that the gain was from short-term programs like Cash for Clunkers and other programs that were a part of the economic stimulus package, with some wondering whether GDP growth will continue.