US economy doing better

Figures form the US government show that economy did better than expected by shrinking by only 5.5 per cent.



The Gross domestic product (GDP) had been previously estimated at a 5.7 per cent decline.



The figure applied to the first three months of this year.



However the Labor Department said the number of people filing first-time claims for jobless benefits increased by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 627,000.



Economists had expected about 600,000 claims.



US officials said due to recent positive figures they expect the recession to have a less harsh effect within the next coming months.