有关就业和住房销售的最新数据公布后，认为美国经济的最糟阶段可能已经过去的希望又开始暗淡。美国劳工部发表的报告说，首次申请失业保险的人数上星期增长，同时继续申请失业救济的美国人数增加到610万，连续12个星期打破记录。
与此同时，一个行业组织说，3月份的住房销售比2月份下跌3%。全国房地产经纪人协会星期四说，住房中位价格比一年前下降12%，大约一半售出的住房的房主面临偿付房屋贷款困难。
Hopes that the worst might be over for the U.S. economy are fading in light of the latest data on jobs and home sales. A report from U.S. Labor Department says initial claims for unemployment insurance jumped last week (to 640,000), while the number of Americans continuing to apply for jobless benefits jumped to 6.1 million, setting a record for a 12th week in a row.
Meanwhile, an industry group says homes sales plunged three percent from February to March. The National Association of Realtors also said Thursday that median homes prices are down 12 percent from a year ago and that about half of all homes sold belonged to owners who were having trouble paying back their home loans.