The United States Department of Labor released today the new U.S jobs report, which displayed shocking numbers for jobs added in June. Economists had predicted a report for last month that should display strong results and had high hopes that the economy was heading in a positive direction. Unfortunately, the release of the report was disappointing proving to be just the opposite of what had been expected. In fact, data showed unemployment at 9.2%, the highest recorded this year.
According to the job report released by the U.S. Department of Labor, only 18,000 jobs were generated in June, significantly below last months' report. This report shows the number to be dramatically below the previous report in May, displaying the addition of only 25,000 jobs. Not only did the data show less hiring it also highlighted major underemployment. Last month a large portion of those seeking jobs were forced to take part-time jobs and jobs below their skill level because they were unable to find full time work. Underemployment affected 8.6 million people in June, leaving those affected with not only cuts in average weekly hours but in their hourly wages as well. Due to these cuts paychecks were left smaller which is taking its toll on the economy. Consumers were left with less buying power affecting the ability to fuel the economy. There have been some signs of recent economic improvement though aside from June’s disappointing report. The recent decrease in gas prices give hope of future economic improvement in the second half of the year, but a strong boost in hiring is needed in order to keep up with the constantly growing population.
Censky, Annalyn . (2011). June jobs report: hiring slows, unemployment rises. CNNMoney, Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2011/07/08/news/economy/june_jobs_report_unemployment/?cnn=yes
