US economy picks up after spring slump

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Maybe the U.S. economy’s strength this winter wasn’t just weather-related after all.

Home construction is near a three-year high. And factory output has risen in three of the year’s first four months.

Data released Wednesday suggest growth in the April-June quarter is off to a good start, helped by falling gas prices and solid hiring gains. Fears of a spring slump are easing.

“It’s all very encouraging,” said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics. “Things look good at the moment.”

Builders broke ground in April at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 717,000 homes, the Commerce Department said. That nearly matches January’s pace, the best since October 2008.

Construction rose for both single-family homes and apartments.

Some economists have noted that a warm winter led companies to move up some hiring and accelerate other activity — including homebuilding — that normally wouldn’t occur until spring. That gave the appearance that the economy had strengthened in January and February and weakened in March.