U.S. economy stays on sluggish growth path: Fed

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy continued its slow recovery in recent weeks, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday, with pockets of strength in manufacturing offset by "depressed" housing markets and employers who are still reluctant to hire.

The U.S. central bank's Beige Book showed more anecdotal evidence that the economy remains unable to break into a faster rate of growth needed to generate sufficient job growth.

(Reporting by David Lawder, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)