KEY POINTS
  • First-quarter GDP declined at a 1.5% annual pace, worse than the 1.3% Dow Jones estimate and a write-down from the initially reported 1.4%.
  • The pullback in gross domestic product represented the worst quarter since the pandemic-scarred Q2 of 2020.
  • Initial jobless claims totaled 210,000, a decline of 8,000 from the previous week.
A 'We're Hiring!' sign is posted at a Starbucks in Los Angeles, California.

The U.S. economic contraction to start the year was worse than expected as weak business and private investment failed to offset strong consumer spending, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

First-quarter gross domestic product declined at a 1.5% annual pace, according to the second estimate from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. That was worse than the 1.3% Dow Jones estimate and a write-down from the initially reported 1.4%.