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The economy grew at a modest 2.5 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter. That's too slow to generate hiring strong enough to rapidly lower the unemployment rate, which is a still-high 7.3 percent four years after the Great Recession ended. And economists forecast that growth has slowed to an annual rate of 2 percent or less in the current July-September quarter. Consumers have grown more cautious about spending, while higher interest rates have threatened to slow the housing recovery.
[Associated
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