Gross domestic product grew at a 2% annual rate in the third quarter of 2021, the Bureau of Economic Analysis announced on Thursday morning.

The growth was slower than forecasters expected and was well below the 6.7% pace of growth that the economy experienced in the second quarter of this year. GDP grew at a 6.3% annual rate during the first quarter.

Forecasters expect growth to pick up in the quarters ahead, but the result is a disappointment given the hopes for a continued strong rebound from the pandemic.

“On the less positive side of the data ledger, the annualized gain in third-quarter GDP was 2%, well below the trend earlier in the year,” said Mark Hamrick, Bankrate senior economic analyst. “Even so, that ‘disappointing’ reading is consistent with the U.S. long-term trend, likely only a fairly temporary speed bump caused by the global traffic jam of goods with which we’ve become all too familiar.”