The United States economy added a meager 18,000 jobs in June, compared with a gain of a revised 25,000 jobs in May, the Department of Labor said on Friday, while the unemployment rate edged up to 9.2 percent from 9.1 percent in May.
The numbers showed the continuing challenges of adding jobs to the economy even at a rate that keeps pace with population growth, two years after the official end of the longest economic downturn since the Great Depression.
The report said that 14.1 million people were out of work in June, among them 6.3 million who have been jobless for six months or longer. In May, the total number of unemployed people was reported as 13.9 million, with the long-term unemployed at 6.2 million.
The monthly jobs report is seen as a gauge of how well the nation’s job market is restoring the more than eight million jobs lost during the recession.
“We are two years into a recovery and there is no improvement whatsoever,” said Paul Dales of Capital Economics. “It is still as bad as it has ever been.”
Paul Ballew, the chief economist and senior vice president for Nationwide, said housing, consumer indebtedness and government fiscal problems were drags on the economy. “We have this very uneven pattern of growth,” he said.
The increase in nonfarm payrolls came mostly from private companies, which added 57,000 jobs in June, from the revised 73,000 they brought on in May, the monthly report said.
In general, government agencies have been shedding jobs as they grapple with budget pressures. Friday’s report showed that 39,000 government jobs were cut in June. The previous month, 28,000 local government and 2,000 state jobs were cut.
Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News predicted that the report would show the economy added 105,000 nonfarm payrolls in June and that the unemployment rate would remain unchanged from May, when it had edged up from 9.0 percent in April.
A separate survey from the Labor Department showed that more people were out of work, even as employers were adding new jobs. The department’s household survey, from which the unemployment rate is derived, showed a 445,000 drop in employment in June, with a 272,000 drop in the labor force. The ratio between employment and the population declined slightly to 58.2 percent.
The Labor Department said that following gains that averaged 215,000 jobs per month from February through April, employment has been “essentially flat” for the past two months.
Some of the economic data for the nation has been showing a general improvement in recent weeks. Consumers, still struggling with debt, are seen as slowly recovering from a hesitation to spend, a turnaround that could inspire more hiring. A survey of 25 of the nation’s largest retailers on Thursday showed a surprising vibrancy, with sales in stores open at least a year up 6.5 percent in June.
But other recent reports have disappointed, such as those tracking trends in consumer sentiment, factory sales and the housing sector. Economists have ratcheted down their forecasts for the overall growth of the economy, with some estimating an annual rate of about 2 percent or slightly more for the second quarter.
On Thursday, the government said initial jobless benefit claims declined last week, even though they remained above the 400,000 for the 13th consecutive week. Also, a survey derived from company payrolls by the company ADP showed on Thursday that the private sector added 157,000 jobs in June, above the 70,000 that economists had predicted the survey would show.
The Labor Department’s report on Friday showed that payroll cuts hit some sectors harder than others in June. Most of the increases in nonfarm jobs came from leisure and hospitality businesses, where 34,000 jobs were added in June, and in the professional and technical services sectors, which added 24,000 jobs. Manufacturing, which lost a revised 2,000 jobs in May, showed a gain of 6,000 jobs in June.
The average workweek was 34.3 hours in June, compared with 34.4 hours in May, while average hourly earnings fell 1 cent to $22.99 in June.
The median length of time the unemployed had been out of work was 22.5 weeks in June, up from 22 weeks in May.
The numbers showed the continuing challenges of adding jobs to the economy even at a rate that keeps pace with population growth, two years after the official end of the longest economic downturn since the Great Depression.
The report said that 14.1 million people were out of work in June, among them 6.3 million who have been jobless for six months or longer. In May, the total number of unemployed people was reported as 13.9 million, with the long-term unemployed at 6.2 million.
The monthly jobs report is seen as a gauge of how well the nation’s job market is restoring the more than eight million jobs lost during the recession.
“We are two years into a recovery and there is no improvement whatsoever,” said Paul Dales of Capital Economics. “It is still as bad as it has ever been.”
Paul Ballew, the chief economist and senior vice president for Nationwide, said housing, consumer indebtedness and government fiscal problems were drags on the economy. “We have this very uneven pattern of growth,” he said.
The increase in nonfarm payrolls came mostly from private companies, which added 57,000 jobs in June, from the revised 73,000 they brought on in May, the monthly report said.
In general, government agencies have been shedding jobs as they grapple with budget pressures. Friday’s report showed that 39,000 government jobs were cut in June. The previous month, 28,000 local government and 2,000 state jobs were cut.
Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News predicted that the report would show the economy added 105,000 nonfarm payrolls in June and that the unemployment rate would remain unchanged from May, when it had edged up from 9.0 percent in April.
A separate survey from the Labor Department showed that more people were out of work, even as employers were adding new jobs. The department’s household survey, from which the unemployment rate is derived, showed a 445,000 drop in employment in June, with a 272,000 drop in the labor force. The ratio between employment and the population declined slightly to 58.2 percent.
The Labor Department said that following gains that averaged 215,000 jobs per month from February through April, employment has been “essentially flat” for the past two months.
Some of the economic data for the nation has been showing a general improvement in recent weeks. Consumers, still struggling with debt, are seen as slowly recovering from a hesitation to spend, a turnaround that could inspire more hiring. A survey of 25 of the nation’s largest retailers on Thursday showed a surprising vibrancy, with sales in stores open at least a year up 6.5 percent in June.
But other recent reports have disappointed, such as those tracking trends in consumer sentiment, factory sales and the housing sector. Economists have ratcheted down their forecasts for the overall growth of the economy, with some estimating an annual rate of about 2 percent or slightly more for the second quarter.
On Thursday, the government said initial jobless benefit claims declined last week, even though they remained above the 400,000 for the 13th consecutive week. Also, a survey derived from company payrolls by the company ADP showed on Thursday that the private sector added 157,000 jobs in June, above the 70,000 that economists had predicted the survey would show.
The Labor Department’s report on Friday showed that payroll cuts hit some sectors harder than others in June. Most of the increases in nonfarm jobs came from leisure and hospitality businesses, where 34,000 jobs were added in June, and in the professional and technical services sectors, which added 24,000 jobs. Manufacturing, which lost a revised 2,000 jobs in May, showed a gain of 6,000 jobs in June.
The average workweek was 34.3 hours in June, compared with 34.4 hours in May, while average hourly earnings fell 1 cent to $22.99 in June.
The median length of time the unemployed had been out of work was 22.5 weeks in June, up from 22 weeks in May.
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