A downbeat jobs outlook

The Labor Department reported that the American economy added only 41,000 private-sector jobs last month.

The American economy added only 41,000 private-sector jobs last month, the Labor Department reported, raising new concerns about the vitality of the economic recovery. There were a total of 431,000 new jobs, but the vast majority of them were temporary U.S. Census positions. The news sent stock markets plunging 3 percent in a single day, one of the sharpest declines of the year. President Obama stressed the positive, noting that private-sector jobs have grown for six consecutive months. Still, the mood in Washington was glum. “My best guess is we’ll have a continued recovery,” said Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, “but it won’t feel terrific.”

So much for the Obama recovery, said Rich Lowry in National Review. The massive hike in government spending was supposed to trigger an economic boom, but “so far, we’re one boom short.” The May jobs report, though, is “a perfect distillation of Obamanomics,” which depends on short-term government spending—the stimulus package, cash-for-clunkers, etc.—“that is as sustainable as a sugar high.”

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