The employment picture in the U.S. remained bleak last month as the nation’s payrolls fell for a second straight month, with private-sector businesses adding a disappointingly scant number of new jobs. The jobless rate held steady at 9.5 percent in July, the government said Friday.
The Labor Department said that private employers added just 71,000 new net jobs in July. Meanwhile, the federal government laid off 143,000 temporary census workers, and with budget-strapped local governments also cutting back, the total number of American jobs last month fell by 131,000 from June.
What’s more, Labor statisticians revised down the job figures for June, saying that total payroll jobs fell by 221,000 that month instead of 125,000 previously estimated.
Overall, the latest snapshot of the U.S. economy indicates no momentum building in the critical job market, which underpins consumer spending and confidence on the part of individuals and businesses. After adding 200,000 private-sector jobs on average in March and April, the labor market has weakened – producing just 51,000 jobs on average in each of the last three months. The data are consistent with other economic indicators such as housing and retail sales that have softened since late spring.
Friday’s jobs report showed a gain of 36,000 jobs in manufacturing last month, but much of that was because auto makers had fewer seasonal layoffs than usual. The health-care sector added 27,000 jobs over the month.
But hiring at other service industries, including those that pay better wages, remain anemic. Professional and business services lost 13,000 jobs over the month, and companies engaged in financial activities cut 17,000 to their payrolls.
Altogether, the average workweek for workers rose a notch to 34.2.
The unemployment rate, which has drifted down from 9.7% in May, would have been considerably higher if not for many people dropping out of the work force.
The total number of officially unemployed remained at about 14.6 million last month, with nearly half of them jobless for more than six months.
A broader measure of unemployment plus under-employment, which includes part-time workers who want full-time jobs, remained at 16.5% in July.
– By Don Lee, don.lee@latimes.com
How’s that economic recovery going for you?
Hope and change? You people who voted for these economic illiterates deserve all of this misery. Unfortunately, the rest of us need to suffer because of your poor decision-making skills at the ballot box.
Next time, please vote responsibly.
“Payrolls fall?”
YOU MEAN JOBS WERE LOST AGAIN!!!!
That language is intellectually dishonest – but no there is no media bias is there.
But on the positive side… Obama was here to raise $1.0 mil for Gianoullis so that he can help BO implement more of these policies…. Woo Hoo
And McCain and sidekick Sarah would have handled this better? How? By continuing to offer stimulus checks to the nation and cutting income taxes while the nation is fighting two wars?
I will vote responsibly, all right. At least Obama is trying to dig us out of this mess…not deny it, like his predecessor.
******* right you cut taxes and give the money to the people because its THEY and THEIR spending habits that create jobs. The government has proven time and time again they’re incompetent and all they can say is “let them eat cake.”
Bush’s stimulus wasn’t effective because he didn’t give the people enough cash – they needed 5-10k each and THAT would have stimulated the economy – not 300 bucks. Not to mention 5-10k per working taxpayer would have been WAY cheaper than Obama’s stimulus.
OBAMA WANTS OBAMA TO BE THE ANSWER TO ALL OUR PROBLEMS – NOT THE PEOPLE!! OBAMA IS OBSESSED WITH HIS OWN IMAGE AND VIEWS HIM SELF AS A MESSIAH AND WE HAVE TO PAY FOR IT!!!!!!
HE THINKS HES A GREAT SOCIALIST LEADER BUT IN THE END HE WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS THE MAN WHO DESTROYED AMERICA AND DID SO BECAUSE HE WAS DUMB AND INFATUATED WITH HIM SELF.
if i do recall (correctly), during the 2008 campaign & even after, it was noted that we were in for a LONG recovery from the great recession … nobody claimed to have a silver bullet to fix all our problems all at once … so here we are barely 1.5 years into a new administration & the same people who got us into the mess are now at it again trying to make us think they can do a better job? no, thanks.
The bad news, 14.6 million citizens unemployed. On the bright side, Obama’s golf handicap is down to “3″ this summer. Also, Michelle is enjoying an expensive vacation in Spain at a luxurious resort (at taxpayer expense). Good for them !!
eje – You but the propaganda hook, line and sinker.
The same people who brainwashed you to believe what you just spewed calls job losses – “payroll reductions” do you not see the subtle propaganda their?????
Truth is this all started when Clinton mandated the “credit” was a basic HUMAN RIGHT…. People abused credit, the last SEVERAL congresses abused their power and spent like kids in a candy store and now we have a horrible economy.
But no the liberals that write the crap they do want YOU to believe it was republicans whom are responsible for this mess because they want liberals to stay in power because they know liberals will give them entitlements while republicans wont….
Dont believe me??? its congress who writes laws and here is our congressional makeup since 1949.
1949-1981 Dem Majority Congress
1981-1987 Repub majority 53.3/46.3 Ind 1 [1981-83]
1987-1995 Dem Majority Congress
1995-2001 Repub Majority 54/46
2001-2003 Tie 50/50
2003-2007 Repub Majority 53/46 Ind 1
2007-2009 Tie 49/49 Ind 2
2009-2011 Dem Majority 57/41 Ind 2
With that data HOW IS IT THE REPUBLICANS FAULT???????
Get educated before you go blaming political parties.
Never mind! America keep loosing jobs, billionaire are leaving billions to charity and companies keep sending jobs to India. There’s no balance in this country.