Major slowdown in US hiring
Source: Agencies |
May 5, 2012, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
US employers pulled back on hiring in April for the second straight month, evidence of an economy still growing only sluggishly. The unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent, but only because more Americans gave up looking for work.
The US Labor Department yesterday said the economy added just 115,000 jobs in April. That's below March's upwardly revised 154,000 jobs and far fewer than the pace earlier this year.
The unemployment rate has fallen a full percentage point since August to a three-year low. But last month's decline was not due to job growth. The government only counts people as unemployed if they are actively looking for work.
Weak job gains pose a threat to US President Barack Obama's reelection. He is likely to face voters this fall with the highest unemployment rate of any president since World War II.
In April, the percentage of adults working or looking for work fell to the lowest level in more than 30 years. Many have become discouraged about their prospects.
More than 5 million Americans have been unemployed for six months or longer, an astonishingly high number almost three years into a recovery.
Employers added an average of 252,000 jobs per month from December through February, a burst of hiring that raised hopes the economy would accelerate. But job gains have averaged only 135,000 in the two months since then. That's below last year's pace of 164,000 per month.
The slowdown could heighten fears that high gas prices and sluggish income growth are weighing on the broader economy.
Some economists attribute the weak gains partly to mild winter, which led some companies to accelerate hiring in January and February.
The US Labor Department yesterday said the economy added just 115,000 jobs in April. That's below March's upwardly revised 154,000 jobs and far fewer than the pace earlier this year.
The unemployment rate has fallen a full percentage point since August to a three-year low. But last month's decline was not due to job growth. The government only counts people as unemployed if they are actively looking for work.
Weak job gains pose a threat to US President Barack Obama's reelection. He is likely to face voters this fall with the highest unemployment rate of any president since World War II.
In April, the percentage of adults working or looking for work fell to the lowest level in more than 30 years. Many have become discouraged about their prospects.
More than 5 million Americans have been unemployed for six months or longer, an astonishingly high number almost three years into a recovery.
Employers added an average of 252,000 jobs per month from December through February, a burst of hiring that raised hopes the economy would accelerate. But job gains have averaged only 135,000 in the two months since then. That's below last year's pace of 164,000 per month.
The slowdown could heighten fears that high gas prices and sluggish income growth are weighing on the broader economy.
Some economists attribute the weak gains partly to mild winter, which led some companies to accelerate hiring in January and February.
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