| Page 2 of 2 < |
U.S. Workforce Shrinks For 6th Straight Month
Job seekers gather in Los Angeles last month for a career fair. The Department of Labor said the economy has lost about 438,000 jobs since the beginning of the year.
(By Ric Francis -- Associated Press)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
The jobs news, while sobering, was in line with the expectations of many economists, and the stock market closed yesterday with mixed results. The Dow Jones industrial average -- which was up 0.65 percent yesterday, at 11,288.54 -- is down about 20 percent from its October record, the threshold decline for a bear market.
In a sign that concern about inflation is beginning to take precedence over the tepid economy, the European Central Bank yesterday raised its key lending rate by a quarter of a percentage point, to 4.25 percent. At its most recent meeting, the Federal Reserve halted its series of interest rate cuts, leaving rates stable with a statement that cited the "upside risks of inflation."
In Washington, the two presidential candidates traded comments on the jobs data. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) said: "Our economy has now shed 438,000 jobs over the past six months, while workers' wages fail to keep pace with the skyrocketing cost of gas, groceries and health care. The American people are paying the price for the failed economic policies of the past eight years, and we can't afford four more years of more of the same."
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said that the numbers reflect the economic struggles faced by everyday Americans. "To get our economy back on track, we must enact a jobs-first economic plan that supports job creation, provide immediate tax relief for families, enact a plan to help those facing foreclosure, lower health care costs, invest in innovation, move toward strategic energy independence and open more foreign markets to our goods," he said.
The White House released a statement saying that even if employment is declining, the economy has managed to continue expanding -- albeit at an anemic rate. Gross domestic product grew by a 1 percent annual rate during the first three months of this year, and the White House predicted that growth could be stronger in the second quarter.
"We are no doubt in a period of slow growth. It is growth nonetheless, but it's very slow and it's had an impact on employment," said White House Press Secretary Dana Perino.
Congressional Democrats said the jobs reports illustrates the need for more aggressive action by the federal government to prod economic growth by completing work on a pending legislation to bring relief for many homeowners facing foreclosure and by having a second federal tax rebate, to complement the $168 billion plan launched in May.
Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, asked: "When will the administration realize the economic pain many Americans are suffering, and when will they understand that focused government activities like a housing relief bill and a second stimulus package could help alleviate that pain?"
