Fewer Americans filed applications for unemployment benefits over the past month than at any time in seven years, a sign the labor market continues to strengthen.

The trade deficit ballooned in April to the widest in two years as Americans bought record amounts of consumer goods, business equipment and automobiles from abroad.

Service industries expanded in May at the fastest pace in nine months as orders picked up, indicating improving sales will help the U.S. economy strengthen.

The Institute for Supply Management said its May manufacturing index improved to 55.4 from 54.9 a month earlier, the Tempe, Arizona-based group said in a second correction on the data.

Consumer spending fell in April after the biggest surge in almost five years as incomes slowed, a sign the largest part of the U.S. economy will take time to accelerate.

Contracts to purchase previously owned homes rose in April for the second straight month, a sign the residential real estate market is stabilizing after a weak start to the year.

Jobless claims fell by 27,000 to 300,000 in the week ended May 24, the Labor Department reported.

Home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose at a slower pace in the year ended in March as the housing market began to weaken at the start of 2014.

The Conference Board’s index of U.S. consumer confidence increased to 83 in May from 81.7 a month earlier, the New York-based private research group said today.