Payrolls in U.S. Rose 96,000 in August, Jobless Rate Fell
By Shobhana Chandra - Sep 7, 2012 8:37 AM ET
(c) Bloomberg.com
LINK TO BLOOMBERG(excerpt)
Payrolls rose less than projected in August and the unemployment rate declined as more Americans left the labor force, indicating the U.S. labor market is stagnating.
The economy added 96,000 workers last month following a revised 141,000 rise in July that was smaller than initially estimated, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median estimate of 92 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a gain of 130,000. Unemployment unexpectedly fell to 8.1 percent, and hourly earnings were unchanged.
Employers may be reluctant to expand headcounts as they face a global economic slowdown and the so-called fiscal cliff of automatic tax increases and government spending cuts. The damage inflicted by the lack of progress on jobs is the reason Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke last week said the central bank may need to do more.
“This is definitely a setback for the labor market and the economy,†said Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York and former economist for the Fed. “This clearly validates Bernanke’s concern. We have Europe, the fiscal cliff, and it is a generally cautious business environment.â€
============================================================
Whoop-de-frickin-doo. 94K jobs added, but 368K gave up, which is the only reason why the U-3 went down. No way any but the biggest of liars can spin this. None.