US jobless data suggests slowdown in job creation

WRAPUP 3-US jobless data suggests slowdown in job creation | Reuters

The number of Americans claiming unemployment benefits for the first time fell only slightly last week, suggesting that job growth in April will not improve much after March's disappointing performance.

Other data on Thursday showed factory activity in the Mid-Atlantic region slowed sharply this month and home resales dropped for a second straight month in March.
Economists viewed the string of weak reports as payback after an abnormally warm winter boosted activity and did not believe that the economy would suffer a repeat of 2011, when growth slowed down sharply in the first half of the year.