Jobs: A bleak report, a bleaker outlook
The U.S. economy generated an anemic 54,000 jobs in May, raising worries that the recovery is fading, said Christopher Rugaber in the Associated Press. The unemployment rate rose from 9.0 percent to 9.1 percent, as many industries laid off workers and local budget cutbacks relegated 28,000 public workers to the unemployment rolls. Manufacturers eliminated 5,000 positions, the first net job loss in seven months in that sector, which had been leading the hiring comeback. Retailers, hotels, and restaurants also cut jobs, bringing a three-month hiring surge in those sectors to a dispiriting and abrupt halt.
Don’t try blaming tornadoes in the Midwest or supply-chain disruptions from Japan for the wretched payroll data, said Robin Harding in the Financial Times. “The slowdown in job growth was spread across many industries,” and suggests that U.S. economic activity remains so sluggish that employers are in no rush to add staff. In ordinary times, 9.1 percent unemployment would spur the Federal Reserve to lower short-term interest rates and the White House to announce measures to stimulate hiring. But short rates are already near zero, and Washington has no appetite for more spending. The unemployed are on their own.
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