The country’s economic performance in the opening quarter of 2005 was better than first thought, logging a solid 3.5 percent annual growth rate in a new sign of a strong springtime business expansion.
The latest reading on gross domestic product, released by the Commerce Department on Thursday, was an upgrade from the 3.1 percent pace initially estimated for the January-to-March quarter.
In other economic news Thursday, the Labor Department said new claims for unemployment insurance rose by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 323,000 last week. Even with the increase, the level of claims still points to an improving job market, analysts said.
