The economic recovery in the United States has gained momentum. Consumption spending has accelerated from its weak pace through most of 2011, and business investment has continued to record solid gains. Residential investment, meanwhile, has shown some signs of a sustained recovery. In the labour market, the pace of employment growth has risen early this year, and initial claims for unemployment insurance have dropped close to the levels observed prior to the recession (). Although still high, the unemployment rate has fallen nearly 2 percentage points from its peak in 2009.