Question

While the economy grew during the first half of the year, many businesses were still forced to cut jobs, ____

in turn caused consumers to reduce spending.
O this
O it
O which
O and so

Answer 1

The appropriate word to use to connect the two clauses is "which".

Step-by-step explanation:

"While the economy grew during the first half of the year, many businesses were still forced to cut jobs, which in turn caused consumers to reduce spending."

"Which" is a relative pronoun used to refer to something previously mentioned and connects the two ideas, indicating a cause-and-effect relationship between them.

Answer 2

Answer:
This

while the economy grew during the first half if the year,many businesses were still forced to cut jobs THIS in turn caused consumers to reduce spending