Economy Continues To Shed Jobs, Unemployment Rate at 9.5%
The Labor Department released it’s June jobs report on Thursday and the figures which were higher than forecast comes at a time that consumer spending continues to falter despite the fact it should be receiving a boost from this year’s stimulus payments.
Nonfarm payroll employment continued to decline in June (-467,000), and the unemployment rate was little changed at 9.5 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Job losses were widespread across the major industry sectors, with large declines occurring in manufacturing, professional and business services, and construction.
While many economists at the Fed believe the economy will turn positive by the end of the year, they still concede the fact that unemployment will likely climb above 10% and that job losses will continue for some time. The employment creation portion of the Obama administration’s stimulus package will take at least two years before the economy will see most of it’s benefits.
Thus far, the economy has lost approximately six and a half million jobs since the recession began and many feel that the figure could hit ten million before employment begins to turn positive. The government has tried to help as best they can by extending the period of unemployment benefits but still a number of Americans are going through difficult times.
The time frame for an employment recovery will be difficult to predict and could lag as much as a year behind the economy’s recovery, if not longer. While the economy may turn positive by the end of the year, a large component of that recovery will be the increased federal spending that has taken place.
