Why so many Americans dislike this fast-growing economy

Data this week showed that the American economy is growing at its fastest pace in two years — and yet polling shows the mood on Main Street is grim.

It’s almost hard to believe we’re talking about the same economy. But the metrics offer another reminder that two seemingly diverging trends can simultaneously be true. An economy that’s growing rapidly doesn’t necessarily mean everyone is feeling it.

Yes, gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the US economy, heated up this summer to a sizzling annualized pace of 4.3%, far outpacing economists’ expectations.

But the booming GDP did not translate to a hiring boom, nor was it accompanied by a return to normal inflation.

“GDP is an abstract concept. But people know jobs. They know they can’t find a job if they lose theirs,” Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi told CNN in a phone interview on Tuesday. “And they know they are paying more for coffee, beef, electricity, child care and just about everything else.”