The numbers look good in the May jobs report, but looks can be deceiving. 431,000 new jobs were created but the vast majority of them were created by the government hiring temporary census workers. The unemployment rate dipped to 9.7 percent.
President Obama said, "We're moving in the right direction. The economic policies that we put in place are working."
Economists disagree. It was the fifth straight month of jobs gains, but the private sector is still struggling. The weak jobs report raises the possibility of a double dip recession. Take a look:
Barnanke Sees Meager Recovery, Meager Jobs Improvement in 2010
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke about the economy and the recession yesterday. Bernanke does not think we will have a jobless recovery that is as bad as the one following the 2001 recession but he is concerned job growth could be meager in 2010.
In response to a question from the audience, Bernanke said he doesn't see the same kind of jobless recovery in 2010 that the economy went through following the 2001 recession, in which job losses continued for nearly two years after growth returned. But he did say that he's worried job growth will be so meager next year that it won't make a dent in the unemployment rate.
Bernanke also said credit for small businesses and consumers is likely to remain strained. And he said that tighter credit will be a significant drag on the economy going forward.
We will be lucky if we have job growth in 2010. As of right now the economy continues to lose jobs. There has been recovery in the jobs market so to talk about a "meager jobs recovery" is premature as there has been no jobs recovery at all. Bernanke also said he does not see the economy slipping back into a recession but it will if there is not a jobs recovery. Consumers can't spend if they don't have an income.
The average salary increase at companies is only 2% this year so a raise seems unlikely. Harry Smith says he would be afraid to even brooch the subject in this kind of environment. However, Jill Schlesinger from CBSMoneyWatch.com tells Harry Smith that there are ways to go about getting a raise. She says to explain how much money you have saved the company and how valuable and criticial to the company you are. CBS also has an article about it here.
Jill Schlesinger says talk face to face with your boss - don't send an email. If your company is one of those with a salary freeze, salary cuts or widespread layoffs you probably aren't going to get a raise no matter how you ask. Jill Schlesinger says you can also ask for perks like a better office or more vacation time if a monetary increase is not possible. Take a look:
Many economists welcomed the May jobs report as a positive sign even though the economy lost anouther 345,000 jobs and unemployment climbed to 9.4%. The optimism is only there because there were genuine fears the economy was in a terrifying free-fall.
Economists described the Labor Department's monthly jobs report, released Friday, as an unambiguous sign of improvement, yet also clear evidence of broadening national distress, as millions of households grapple with joblessness and lost working hours.
The fact that a report showing the highest unemployment rate in more than a quarter-century was embraced optimistically testified to the stark fears over the economy in recent months.
"The free fall that the job market was in does finally appear to be tapering off," said Stuart G. Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group in Pittsburgh. "It's the prelude to an economic and job recovery later this year."
VOA Newsreports that the unemployment rate is currently higher than the White House and analysts had expected and forecasted months ago.
The White House says America's employment picture is worse than the Obama administration had anticipated just a few months ago. The somber admission follows the latest jobless report showing the highest unemployment rate the United States has seen in more than 25 years.
U.S. unemployment jumped a half percent in May, to 9.4 percent prompting this comment by Austan Goolsbee, a member of President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisors:
"The economy clearly has gotten substantially worse from the initial predictions that were being made, not just by the White House, but by all of the private sector," said Austan Goolsbee.
The high unemployment rate is likely why President Obama announced a new plan (PDF file) to create jobs today. The Christian Science Monitornotes that the plan has little room for error.
Yet the administration is still in rescue mode. On Monday, it formally announced its plan to step up its recovery efforts and create 600,000 jobs, including 125,000 summer jobs for youth.
This may be a good thing. A recession that's moderating is still a recession. People are still losing their jobs at a faster rate than they’re finding new ones. Supporters of continued stimulus are those who see no recovery this year – or such a weak one that it will still feel like recession.
But the economy moves so fast – and government stimulus moves so slowly – that the administration risks falling behind the curve.
Several experts quoted here in a U.S. News article say they expect job losses to continue to moderate but the unemployment rate is still expected to come closer to or exceed 10%.
Job losses may moderate but it could be difficult to estimate the fallout from the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies. Retail sales in May were also weak and another weak month or two could result in more layoffs in the retail industry. There are many unknowns we have to yet to face in this recession.
Marketwatch reports a survey of economists finds that payrolls are expected to show the economy lost another half a million jobs in May. The economists surveyed expect the unemployment rate is to climb to 9.2%
The Labor Department will release the May employment report on Friday at 8:30 a.m. It's the biggest economic release in a week chock full of data covering every sector of the economy.
In "normal circumstances," such heavy job losses "would be seen as very bad news," wrote Brian Bethune and Nigel Gault, economists at IHS Global Insight. But these times are anything but normal.
Investors "may be encouraged that the pace of job losses appears to be slowing -- albeit marginally," wrote Meny Grauman, an economist for CIBC World Markets. It would be the smallest monthly job loss since 380,000 were lost in October in the wake of the financial panic that followed the collapse of Lehman Bros.
500,000 lost jobs will be the lowest monthly number since last October. It may seem like good news to some that a smaller number of jobs are being lost but 500,000 lost jobs is not really a positive sign. It's a sign of a very unhealthy economy. The May jobs report will be out next Friday.
Nonfarm payrolls fell 598,000 in January according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Labor. December was also revised to a loss of 577,000.
Nonfarm payrolls fell by a seasonally adjusted 598,000 in January after a revised loss of 577,000 in December, the government said. It's the largest payroll loss since December 1974, according to a survey of workplaces. Payrolls fell by 597,000 in November.
"Job losses were large and widespread across the major industry sectors," said Keith Hall, head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Manufacturing saw its largest decline in 26 years.
Unemployment climbed to 7.6%. It was the deepest cut in payrolls in 34 years. It was also higher than the 525,000 losses economists were expecting. Nearly 3.6 million jobs have now been lost since the recession began.
Another 500,000+ Jobs Lost in December. Unemployment Climbs to 7.2%
The number of jobs lost in November was similar to November. Nonfarm payroll employment declined sharply in December, and the unemployment rate rose from 6.8 to 7.2 percent - this is a 16-year record. Payroll employment fell by 524,000 over the month and by 1.9 million over the last 4 months of 2008. In December, job losses were large and widespread across most major industry sectors.
The New York Timessays the total number of jobs lost in the recession is now 2.59 million. That number is likely to grow as companies are not done making cuts.
The December decline in jobs came on top of similar losses in October and November. Not since 1980 has the work force shrunk so much in just three months. Companies across all industries are grappling with sales that are deteriorating rapidly just as they lose easy access to loans.
"The simplest way for a company to hoard cash is to drain their inventories and fire their workers," said Robert J. Barbera, chief economist at the Investment Technology Group, a research and trading firm, "and everywhere you look, that is what is happening."
The total number of jobs lost in the recession now totals 2.59 million, counting upward revisions for October and November, with many more job losses expected in coming months.
In some cases companies are filing for bankruptcy or liquidating and jobs are lost because the company is gone. You can see the complete report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics here.
Video Essay: Tough Job Climate For Young Job Seekers
This AP video essay by Martha Irvine focuses on recent college grad Kimberly Bratton. Kimberly Bratton moved to Chicago with the hopes of landing a job in her dream city. So far she has found a lot of temporary work but she has found it tough going when it comes to landing a permanent job. A lot of young job seekers in a lot of cities are finding the job market in today's recession is just as tough and unwelcoming as Kimberly Barrton is discovering it to be. Usually persistence pays off even in a difficult recession like this one.
