US Hiring Grinds to a Near-Halt; Many Stop Looking for Work

[Purveyor]

By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER AND JOSH BOAK, AP ECONOMICS WRITER WASHINGTON — Jun 3, 2016, 5:36 PM ET

U.S. hiring slowed to a near-standstill in May, sowing doubts about the economy's health and complicating the Federal Reserve's efforts to raise interest rates.

While unemployment slid from 5 percent to 4.7 percent, the lowest since November 2007, the rate fell for a troubling reason: Nearly a half-million jobless Americans stopped looking for work and so were no longer counted as unemployed.

Employers added just 38,000 jobs in May, the fewest in over five years.

Less-educated workers bore the brunt of the hiring slump, with a quarter-million high school dropouts losing their jobs in May. That has perpetuated a long-term trend toward a two-tiered job market, with college-educated adults more likely to be employed and earning steady raises.

"The shockingly low payrolls gain in May provides further evidence that the economy is showing clear signs of slowing," said Laura Rosner, an economist at BNP Paribas.

more...

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/us-hiring-falls-worst-years-rate-drops-47-39582849

[newthinking]

1. oh oh

[Purveyor]

2. Uh-huh

[Onlaketime]

3. I think a lot of people have simply given up.

Plus it is technically a job trying to keep up with food stamps and unemployment anyway. I was on it for a year. Once you gte the money it goes right back to the Supermarket and into the money system anyway. The government technically gets it back over time. Just my two cents.

[Ford_Prefect]

4. Not good news...

If you have a degree and are over 45 guess what? If you know more about the job than the manager hiring you, guess what?

Which is to say nothing of the situation for those further down the hiring food chain.

We're all just temps anyway until they figure out how to socialize the costs or off-shore the job.

[Hydra]

5. And the predicted shoe is starting to drop

You know, the next President is going to drop in right as this comes to a head...I wonder if we're going to play kick the can again and bail out the 1%.

[Purveyor]

6. We don't have the options we had back in 2008 such as

cutting interest rates.

Federal bailouts? Who is printing the money for that and the pending wars we will be engaging in come 2017.

Best advice, plant a garden.

[Hydra]

7. The 1% already have a direct line to the treasury

Should be interesting. Not sure how we're going to survive it with the status quo in charge :p

[zalinda]

8. Then let Hillary have it.

She can go down in history as not only the first female President, but the President that sunk the economy. It will be a long time until another female will be elected to that job again. But, it's her turn........her husband started it, and she'll finish sinking the economy. Great Americans, those Clintons.

Z