The U.S. economy experienced a greater recovery than expected in the second quarter as a result of domestic demand, but not of increased hiring. On Thursday, the Commerce Department reported that gross domestic product grew at a 4.2 percent annual rate, exceeding the initial forecasts of 4.0 percent. This reflects upward revisions to business spending and exports, according to Reuters.
A Labor Department report showed today in Washington that in the week ended Aug, 23, claims dropped by 1,000 to 298,000 from 299,000 in the prior period. An increase to 300,000 was the median forecast of 46 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
Gennadiy Goldberg, an economist at TD Securities in New York said, "We expect growth during the latter half of the year to continue running at an above three percent pace, underscoring the rebound in growth momentum as economic slack continues to decline," according to Reuters.
As the labor market makes progress, claims have continued to hover close to their lowest levels since 2007. Estimates in the Bloomberg survey ranged between 280,000 to 315,000. Meanwhile, the claims made prior to last week were revised up from an initial reading of 298,000.
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