Very good news on the economy from yesterday: the GDP grew by a robust 4.9%. That’s a long way from the recession many economists were predicting at the start of the year.

The bad news is that a lot of this growth is being driven by runaway government spending and debt.

As shown below, government spending is growing faster than consumer spending and has been for five quarters in a row now – it’s the fastest-growing part of the entire economy. In the last year, the government accounted for 26% of GDP growth: $166 billion of the $640 billion increase (chained 2017 dollars).

Meanwhile, the monthly jobs reports since the start of the year show government employers adding more jobs than any private sector industry.

The economy is growing – but mostly in the wrong places.