Comment on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Situation Report: Kathy Bostjancic, Director of Macroeconomic Analysis, The Conference Board

Modest Job Growth Confirms Sluggish Economy, But We May Escape Recession

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Oct 07, 2011, 09:06 ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- After four straight months of very little job growth, conditions improved a little in September. While it may help us to just barely escape a recession call, the gain in jobs and incomes is likely too little to blunt consumer pessimism. The main problem is that demand is simply too weak to support more robust job growth (more than 125,000 jobs per month). Employers are not going to step up hiring unless demand picks up. But consumers are not going to spend more until employment strengthens. There is no help on the way from monetary or fiscal policy, at the federal, state, or local level. This all adds up to a labor market that will continue to struggle to deliver even modest gains this autumn or winter.

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