U.S. Growth Rises 'A Little More Than Previously Thought'

GDP grew at a 1.9 percent rate in the first three months of 2011

This morning's economic tea leaves reading is much less gloomy than yesterday's: "GDP, the broadest measure of all the goods and services produced in an economy, grew at an inflation-adjusted annual rate of 1.9% in the first three months of 2011," reported The Wall Street Journal today based on Commerce Department data. Which is "a little more than previously thought." And a bright spot for the economy is the factory sector, which is "continuing to grow despite weakness in the overall economy" on the back of "gains for primary metals, electrical equipment, machinery and computers." Factory gains haven't offset the growing number of jobless, however. The Labor Department released figures yesterday noting that unemployment benefit claims saw their "biggest" jump in a month, the Associated Press reported.