Analysis: U.S. Economy Hits Soft Patch, Jobs to Underpin Growth

By Lucia Mutikani

In an echo of early 2010 when the U.S. recovery stumbled, the world's biggest economy appears to have slowed sharply at the start of this year.

A combination of bad weather and rising gasoline prices undercut activity and produced a string of weak economic data, leading some big banks to halve their growth forecasts.

Though economists are anxious about the unexpected slackening, they largely remain confident that the lull will prove just a soft patch and they still expect a strengthening jobs market to revive growth in the next quarters.