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Hiring slowed sharply in April and May, raising concerns about the strength of the recovery. Employers have added an average of only 73,000 jobs a month in April and May. That's much lower than the average of 226,000 added in the first three months of this year. Some economists warned that the weaker job market may have started to affect home sales, which until recently had been showing modest improvement. Purchases made by first-time buyers, who are critical to a housing recovery, slipped in May. And sales fell in every region except the Midwest. "Not a surprise that existing home sales took a step back in May," said Jennifer Lee, an economist at BMO Capital Markets. "Softening job growth could slow the housing recovery." One positive sign in the report: The supply of homes for sale remains low. The inventory of unsold homes in May was just 2.49 million, roughly the same as in April. It would take only about six months to exhaust the supply at the current sales pace. Not since 2006, when the housing market was booming, has the supply been so low relative to the pace of home sales. A low supply typically encourages more people to put homes up for sale. That generally improves the overall quality of the homes on the market, which drives prices higher. The weaker manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region likely reflects the worsening debt crisis in Europe, which has dampened demand for U.S. exports. Despite the plunge in the survey, companies said they're more optimistic about business conditions in the six months. A gauge of future expectations rose to 19.5 in June from 15 the previous month. Economists cautioned that the Philly Fed index is volatile and does not always reflect the state of manufacturing nationwide. Paul Dales, an economist at Capital Economics, noted that the index fell sharply in August but bounced back into positive territory two months later. "The weight of the evidence therefore suggests that the easing in demand in Europe and Asia is taking a toll on the U.S. economy" but that it's still growing, he said in an email to clients.
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