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The economy has slumped this spring after a promising winter. Hiring has sputtered and confidence has fallen. Consumers are spending less, which has slowed factory production. Retail sales dipped in May for the second straight month, the government said Wednesday. It was the first back-to-back drop in two years. Orders from businesses for machinery, computers and other capital equipment fell in April and March, according to a separate government report released earlier this month. And the Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, said manufacturing activity grew more slowly in May. Companies kept hiring, but not as quickly as in April. Factories have been adding jobs at a healthy pace in the past two of years. But the sector isn't large enough to carry the whole economy. Manufacturers added 12,000 jobs last month, the eighth straight gain. But overall, the economy generated only 69,000 jobs in May, the third straight month of sluggish hiring. The economy grew at an annual rate of 1.9 percent in the January-March quarter. That's slower than the 3 percent growth in the October-December quarter.
[Associated
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