Dismal hiring reveals US economy stuck in a rut
Source: Agencies |
July 7, 2012, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
UNITED States employers added only 80,000 jobs in June, a third straight month of weak hiring that will likely complicate US President Barack Obama's reelection efforts with the economy still struggling three years after the recession ended.
The unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.2 percent, the US Labor Department said in its report yesterday.
The economy added an average of just 75,000 jobs a month in the April-June quarter. That's one-third of the 226,000 a month created in the first quarter.
For the first six months of this year, US employers added an average of 150,000 jobs a month. That's fewer than the 161,000 a month for the first half of 2011. And it shows that the job market is weakening.
"It's a disappointing report," said George Mokrzan of Huntington National Bank in Columbus, Ohio. He said the job gains are consistent with sluggish economic growth.
The report is troubling news for Obama, whose prospects of winning reelection in November could hinge largely on the health of the economy.
A weaker job market has made consumers less confident. They have pulled back on spending, even though gas prices have plunged since early spring.
High unemployment could shift momentum to Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. An Associated Press-GfK poll released last month found that more than half of those surveyed disapproved of Obama's handling of the economy.
The June job figures could also push the Federal Reserve to take further action to try to boost the economy. The Fed last month downgraded its economic outlook for 2012. It predicted growth of just 1.9 percent to 2.4 percent. And it doesn't expect the unemployment rate to fall much further this year.
About one-third of the jobs gained in June were in temporary services. Manufacturing added 11,000, its ninth straight month of gains. But growth in factory jobs slowed sharply in the second quarter compared with the first.
The unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.2 percent, the US Labor Department said in its report yesterday.
The economy added an average of just 75,000 jobs a month in the April-June quarter. That's one-third of the 226,000 a month created in the first quarter.
For the first six months of this year, US employers added an average of 150,000 jobs a month. That's fewer than the 161,000 a month for the first half of 2011. And it shows that the job market is weakening.
"It's a disappointing report," said George Mokrzan of Huntington National Bank in Columbus, Ohio. He said the job gains are consistent with sluggish economic growth.
The report is troubling news for Obama, whose prospects of winning reelection in November could hinge largely on the health of the economy.
A weaker job market has made consumers less confident. They have pulled back on spending, even though gas prices have plunged since early spring.
High unemployment could shift momentum to Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. An Associated Press-GfK poll released last month found that more than half of those surveyed disapproved of Obama's handling of the economy.
The June job figures could also push the Federal Reserve to take further action to try to boost the economy. The Fed last month downgraded its economic outlook for 2012. It predicted growth of just 1.9 percent to 2.4 percent. And it doesn't expect the unemployment rate to fall much further this year.
About one-third of the jobs gained in June were in temporary services. Manufacturing added 11,000, its ninth straight month of gains. But growth in factory jobs slowed sharply in the second quarter compared with the first.
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