Third-quarter estimated data indicate that total state and local government spending was down 0.06 percent on a year-over-year basis in the third quarter of 2013. For the last five quarters, on a year-over-year basis, there have been small gains in state and local government consumption expenditures, but gross investments have decreased. However, a quarter-to-quarter comparison show that both consumption and gross investments expenditure levels have been increasing since the first quarter of 2013.
