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

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Jul 06, 2012, 09:12 ET

NEW YORK, July 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Faltering Jobs for a Fourth Straight Month

The slow labor market improvement reflected in this month's 80,000 increase in jobs once again confirms that the better payroll increases in the beginning of the year were another false start. The pullback marks the third straight disappointing year. Subdued demand has been the one consistent factor in this sluggish economic expansion. On top of moderately rising labor costs, companies' profit growth is also slowing. There is little hope of an acceleration in the pace of job growth any time soon. These conditions are likely to persist at least through the summer and possibly longer. This economy has no forward momentum and little help from monetary or fiscal policy. As if that were not enough, ill winds are blowing in from both a contracting Europe and slowing growth in emerging markets. Also, domestic lawmakers' inaction on the upcoming "fiscal cliff" creates uncertainty that is not conducive to hiring.

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