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The economy has slumped after showing signs of life at the start of the year. Job growth slowed to 75,000 a month from April through June, down from healthy 226,000 pace the first three months of the year. Unemployment has been stuck at 8.2 percent for two straight months. A survey from the Fed said hiring was "tepid" in most districts in June and early July, and manufacturing weakened in most regions. Retail sales fell in June for the third straight month, the government said earlier this week. That prompted many economists to downgrade their estimates for growth in the April-June quarter. Many now think it will be even slower than the first quarter's sluggish 1.9 percent annual pace. The only good news recently has been evidence of a long-awaited recovery in the housing market. The government reported Wednesday that U.S. builders last month broke ground on the most homes in nearly four years. Single-family home building rose for a fourth straight month. And permits to build single-family homes hit the highest level since March 2010.
[Associated
Press;
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