Another flop for the American economy, which after unexpectedly predicting a 0,1% drop in the preliminary analysis at the beginning of 2014, actually started the year with a decline. A decline which, however, turned out to be even worse than the latest expectations, which marked a -0,6%: in the end, according to data reported today by the Department of Commerce, the stars and stripes GDP lost 1% in the first quarter, the worst result of the last three years.
However, the contraction of the economy does not come as a surprise as it has been known for some weeks now that, due to the bad weather, economic activities had slowed down more than expected in the first three months of the year and, conversely, exports had grown less than expected . For the second quarter, economists expect a strong re-acceleration with an expansion rate of 3,8%.
In the meantime, however, good news is coming from the occupation: iThe number of Americans filing for new jobless benefits last week fell and remained below their pre-recession level, an indication of further improvement in the job market. Initial applications fell by 27 to 300 in the week ending May 24. This was announced by the Labor Department: estimates were for a drop to 319 units.
