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U.S. employers adding jobs -- but it's still not enough
By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
July 6th, 2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
July 6th, 2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
While U.S. employers added 80,000 jobs, the unemployment rate remains
stuck at 8.2 percent. The introduction of new jobs wasn't enough to put a
dent for the millions of jobless across the nation. Voters' attitudes
about the economy are beginning to formulate before the election in
November.
The creation of new positions has stumbled since March. Concerns about consumer spending, the debt crisis in Europe and stagnation in Congress have all played a major part in the current economic malaise.
"There's just not a lot of momentum in the economy," Sam Bullard, an economist at Wells Fargo in Charlotte, North Carolina says.
Mitt Romney, the Republican challenger to President Barack Obama, has set his sights on the weak jobs market that has dogged the current administration.
"The president's policies have not gotten America working again and the president is going to have to stand up and take responsibility for it," Romney said at a news conference in New Hampshire.
In the meantime, President Obama told the crowd at a campaign stop in Poland, Ohio, which while private sector job creation was headed in the right direction, more needed to be done to help the economy grow faster and create more jobs.
"I want to get back to a time when middle class families and those working to get to the middle class have some basic security. That's our goal," he said.
In more disheartening news, the government said the economy created 1,000 fewer jobs during April and May than previously estimated.
The Federal Reserve may be prompted to take new actions to lower borrowing costs to encourage companies to increase hiring. Analysts polled by Reuters expected an increase in payrolls of 90,000 jobs.
The eurozone crisis has led many countries in the European Union to recession which in turn has dulled economic growth around the world from China to Brazil.
Job creation averaged 75,000 per month during the second quarter, compared with an average increase of 226,000 in the first quarter. Milder weather led companies to boost hiring in the winter at spring's expense.
"We're not expecting things to take off in the second half of the year," Sara Klein, an economist at Moody's Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania says. "Weather wasn't the only factor."
The United States had been a relative bright spot in the global economy until recently, especially in manufacturing.
Global policymakers are acting like there are tough times ahead. China, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England all eased monetary policy this week, raising speculation they had coordinated their action.
© 2012, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.