Economy Gaining But Not Enough To Cut Unemployment

By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER and MARTIN CRUTSINGER

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The economy is showing signs of modest improvement - not enough to reduce high unemployment but enough to ease fears that another recession might be near.

Fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week, though some of that was due to technical factors. And the economy grew slightly more in the April-June quarter than previously estimated. Growth is also expected to tick up in coming months.