Another weak jobs report came in at the low edge of expectations for June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The economy added 80,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate remains unchanged at 8.2%.
Because of some marginally better reports this week, including a strong private payroll report from Automatic Data Processing, expectations increased a bit. But as it turns out, BLS shows that the country remains at stall speed on jobs, not creating enough to keep up with population growth. The revisions for April and May were negligible. So this is the third straight month with payroll growth under 100,000, with average growth of 75,000 a month (down from 226,000 a month in the first quarter of 2012). The labor force participation rate and the employment-population ratio were unchanged in June, which is why we see basically no movement on the unemployment rate.
Election forecasters often say that these summer months are when opinions about the economy get locked in. So the attitude of the electorate, if that’s the case, would seem to be that the economy is in a very slow growth pattern.
The number of long-term unemployed over 27 weeks ticked down slightly to 5.37 million, but this still accounts for nearly 42% of the jobless. Those who find themselves unemployed starting this week will see no additional unemployment benefits after 27 weeks, if extended benefits are allowed to expire at the end of the year. If the trend holds, that means that over 5 million Americans will be out of benefits come Christmas, without Congressional action in the lame duck session.
State, local and federal governments lost 4,000 jobs in June, so the private payroll number was marginally higher at +84,000. Professional and business services led the way with 47,000 jobs gained, over half of those from increases in temporary help services. It’s often believed that strong temp growth is a prelude to larger job gains down the road. Manufacturing added a mere 11,000 jobs, and despite the heavy investment in a narrative of a housing recovery, construction added a negligible 2,000 jobs in June, and only then because of big gains among specialty trade contractors. Construction of buildings, both residential and non-residential, fell by 6,900 last month.
The average workweek increased by 0.1 hour, and average hourly earnings increased a decent 6 cents. Earnings have increased by 2% over the year.
Overall, another bad jobs report, with the economy generally stalled, and policymakers doing little to ameliorate the situation. “Where is the Federal Reserve” would be a good question right about now.




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The US has 313 MILLION people as of 2012 and we added only 80,000 jobs??? In any rational society we’d run the gov’t out of town on a rail. With the real unemployment/underemployment rate at about 20%, this is a country falling off a cliff.
There is really nothing the Fed can do about this. All that stuff about QE and raising inflation targets is bullshit.
We could had the “Founding Fathers” established a parliamentary system.
The Fed is ‘pushin’ on a string.’ Might make a great lead song for a new Depression musical. Fred Astair. Where are you when we really need you?
dday will never learn that.
They have those in Europe and look at how they’re doing. The problem is deeper than the way people elect their governments. I suspect a rise in hard socialism, which is needed, if this continues for much longer. Americans are surprisingly patient and optimistic, thinking this is just a brief, awful moment and things will soon get much better again. I don’t know if that naive optimism will last for much longer.
Really powerful. Even though he has no idea how to do that.
This clown has handed the economy that Rs destroyed back to the Rs as the best reason to vote against him. That’s where all that 11-dimensional chess has gotten us.
He was warned.
Michelle hates being First Lady. Maybe like Carla Bruni, she’ll get her wish & O will be a one-termer.
Since 1960, the U.S. has had only three 2-termers.
It was Morning In America…again—- http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/opinion/03geithner.html?pagewanted=all
POTUS is gonna speak this morning.
The U-6 is around 15% and the SGS alternative rate is still over 20%.
Gee, I’m glad that our Democratic president has spent his time cutting the public sector workforce. That’s really put a dent in the deficit (our biggest problem!), and the private sector has definitely picked up the slack.
And the answer is that they’re waiting for November. There’s no mystery about this. If Perry or Gingrich had been the nominee, Bernanke would have done something. But with Romney on offer he’s not going to do anything to help Obama.
Sleazeball Mort Zuckerman tying it all to ACA.
I don’t see Romney winning. That really means nothing. You’re a fool if you get excited Obama wins again. You’d be right to feel a bit more worried if Romney wins, though there’s a small chance Republicans would do something unexpected to spur job growth since they know enough Democrats will go along, making their party look good. There’s also a good chance they’ll make things worse, lose the next election, and blame the even worse state of the economy on the Democrat who gains power after them. Back and forth as we spin downward into the pits of hell.
The one-two punch here is that (a) the policies haven’t worked and (b) ACA has made it worse. That message will be POUNDED for the next 4 months.
Can’t wait. His words are approaching meaningless asymptotically.
The right wing will spend upwards of $1 billion to reinforce that message. Obama will counter with Lilly Ledbetter. Guess who wins that exchange?
Bogus numbers,reality is different,part times are accounted for like full times,people not seeking jobs are not accounted for,the real chocking unemployment is about 13 % .
Just so happens, I got a rail, several of ‘em. Got some tar and feathers too. Email me at the ususual “secret” address.
Wasn’t that a Grassroots song?????
That he was.
I saw part of his speech. He said, “Let us finish what we started.”
I think more appropriatly, “Let us start what you promised.”
I’m kinda in a pissy mood today.
The broader U6 unemployment measure now stands at 14.9% up 0.1% in June.
Two other points worth mentioning: (1) how many of the newly-created jobs pay little more than the minimum wage, and have no health-care or pension benefits? (2) how do those jobs compare with the jobs that have disappeared because of budget cuts, offshoring, etc.?
Exactly.
Amid all the economic calamity our leaders choose that path of least action.
How can yesterday’s private payroll report of 176,000 jobs be so different from today’s BLS number of 80,000?
Fed cant do much, DD. Any actions would be small, but I suppose you can wish for a market pick up due to psycho impact, but fed will not increase demand which is what desperately need.
Yes, I agree with that. Wonder what he,is really thinking. Maybe, o shit this bipartisan stuff doesn’t work.
And this clown wants to cut the deficit. What an idiot.
More on this at link
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303684004577509060305001518.html
So labor force participation rate — hit 63.8% in May, a three decades low. If June is unchanged, we’re still there?
A comparison between the start and end of 2011 showed unemployed persons dropped by 822,000, but persons not in labor force grew by 1.24 million.
Maybe we’re living too long nowadays.
80,000 jobs for the month of June
60,000 jobs for the month of May
Here’s how to create an entire month of jobs overnight.
Cancel the 85,000 H1-B visas issued in the past 10 weeks to foreigners to take American jobs.
Send home the million or so already here on H1-B visas.
There. Done.
Where you see US citizens as “surprisingly patient and optimistic”, I see lazy, ignorant, and gullible.
If that were to happen, Bill Gates would outsource Microsoft in its entirety.
He only visits Congress to convince them to grant more H1-B’s.
How are you fixed for torches and pitchforks? They’re required for a proper revolt by the peasants.
Your tolerance for BS certainly dwarfs mine. I can barely stand to look at the Puppet-in-Chief, and when he does appear on my screen I hit the mute button immediately.
How can you tell the two candidates apart? They’re both corporatists and puppets of plutocracy.
He doesn’t even have to visit Congress. He just sends some (very little) Microsoft money.
Don’t think it is only Microsoft, hundreds of corporations love themselves some H1-B visa foreign workers over Americans.
We’re not broke as a nation; it’s just that the rich and corporations have all the money and aren’t spending or hiring. Europe tried austerity, which failed, and now are doing a stimulus. We need more stimulus. Since the private sector won’t spend/hire, the Government has to do it. Build something for the future. Invest in infrastructure and people.
One’s black and the other’s white?
The one who is black is really half black and half white, but his policies favor the 1% rather than the 99%, so he legislates white.
If that had been the policy from the beginning and O had invested in Main Street and infrastructure instead of wasting his efforts to enact the Gift to the Health Insurance Industry, he could have won a second term with no campaign contributions.
Good. I got a guy…..
Right on! Do we still say that???????
He talked about funding through the strimulus all the “shovel ready projects”. Had he actually done that, he wouldn’t even have had to campaign. He coulda done lots of that in his first two years and still gotten this crappy ACA passed. IMO, he weas to busy kissin’ asses of the banksters.
Exactly. All the fed can do now is increase the carry trade and MAYBE inflate the stock market. For jobs, it’s a fiscal policy, or don’t bother.
OT Re friends request. I don’t know how.
Don’t worry Romney can fix this by geting rid of all regulations on business, lowering the tax rate on wealthy corporations, and drilling for oil everywhere.
Thank you!
Besides not creating jobs or raising wages, QE3 will only result in another massive round of speculation that will spike prices. This, on the heels of crop failures in the Mid-West, will be doubly devastating in commodities.
And since we all need to buy food on occasion…..
I just knew I could count on you.
We don’t even need Romney to expand oil drilling. Obama’s boy Salazar has reopened the Gulf to drilling, selling new leases there, and is approving new deep water drilling off of Alaska. Romney’s “plan” has already been enacted by O, and watch him approve the XL Tar Sands Pipeline of Death if he gets a second term. After all, his Sec. of State’s former campaign manager is pimping for TransCanada.