Yesterday's Los Angeles Times posted an article about the June unemployment numbers released by the Department of Labor.
According to the article:
"Employment-seekers decline by 652,000 June, which may reflect people giving up on job-hunting and a reluctance to hire. Overall, the jobless rate falls to 9.5% from 9.7%, the Labor Department reports."
These numbers reflect a downturn in economic growth also reflected by the fact that the average hours worked in manufacturing and other industries and average hourly earnings also declined in June.
Most of the job gains in June were in the leisure and hospitality industries--low-paying industries and also somewhat seasonal industries. There was an increase of 9,000 in manufacturing jobs (less than the 25,400 in the prior five months). The construction industry lost 22,000 jobs in June.
The percentage of the overall working-age population in the labor force fell in June to 64.7 per cent. That is nearly the lowest in twenty-five years.
If this represents economic recovery, I'd hate to see what would be considered a recession.
Leave a comment