Politico, msnbc, Foxnews… 
Unemployment now at 9.2 percent
Breaking News Friday on the recent report that unemployment has risen again.
July 8, 2011

Obama and Boehner comments, plus story from msnbc 

Politico... The unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent in June, the Labor Department reported Friday morning. The economy added 18,000 jobs last month, the report says. 

Politico continues... President Barack Obama, responding to disappointing job numbers this morning, said that the sooner Congress reaches an agreement to extend the debt ceiling and achieve significant deficit reduction, “the sooner we will give our businesses the certainty they will need” to make additional investments and speed the economic recovery. 

Obama said a deal should be made “not for party but for country” and expressed optimism about the talks with congressional leaders that will resume Sunday at the White House. 

msnbc... US economy created 18,000 jobs in June, far below market expectations; jobless rate rose to 9.2 percent. 

Foxnews... Unemployment rate hits 9.2 percent for June as employers added the fewest jobs in nine months. 

msnbc.com...Hiring slowed to a near-standstill in June

U.S. employers added paltry 18,000 jobs — the fewest in nine months 

WASHINGTON — Hiring slowed to a near-standstill last month, the government said Friday, as employers added the fewest jobs in nine months. 

The Labor Department said the U.S. economy generated only 18,000 net jobs in June. And the number of jobs added in May was revised down to 25,000. The nation’s unemployment rate ticked up to 9.2 percent. 

“Today’s jobs report confirms what most Americans already know: We still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do to give people the opportunity they deserve,” President Barack Obama said Friday morning in a statement on the June jobs report. 

Some ordinary automakers make shockingly expensive models, while premium brands can sometimes make models with a price that’s surprising affordable. Here are five surprising non-bargains, and five unexpected bargains. 

“The economy is not producing nearly enough jobs,” he said, adding that Congress should not wait to act on measures to boost job growth. 

Businesses added the fewest jobs in more than a year in June. Governments cut 39,000 jobs. Over the past eight months, federal, state and local governments have cut a combined 238,000 positions. 

The latest report offered evidence that that the recovery will be painfully slow. Two years after the recession officially ended, companies are adding fewer workers despite record cash stockpiles and healthy profit margins. 

Friday’s disappointing jobs report surprised analysts, many of whom had expected job creation to rebound from a slump in May. 

“Any way you cut this data, it’s lousy,” Diane Swonk, a senior managing director and chief economist for Chicago-based Mesirow Financial, told CNBC Friday. 

Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, said the weak jobs report calls into question the strength of an expected economic rebound later in the year. 

“I think this changes the dynamic of the debt ceiling debate,” Zandi told CNBC. “This kind of jobs number changes the dynamic of the discussion on fiscal policy. There will probably be an introduction of more [economic] stimulus.” 

The struggling labor market is likely a headache for the Obama administration. It has struggled to get the economy to create enough jobs to absorb the 13.9 million unemployed Americans. 

The economy is the top concern among voters and will feature prominently in Obama’s bid for reelection next year. So far, the economy has regained only a fraction of the more than 8 million jobs lost during the recession.

Story: Do you have a question about landing your first job? 

At the same time, the Federal Reserve — which wrapped up a $600 billion bond-buying program last week designed to spur lending and stimulate growth — appears unlikely to take any further steps to boost the economy. 

U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis on Friday called the meager addition of jobs in June disappointing and called for a speedy resolution of an impasse over raising the national debt ceiling. 

“This job report isn’t where it needs to be, it needs to be better,” Solis said in an interview on Bloomberg television. “People are waiting to see what’s going to happen here in Washington, D.C.,” she said. “What we don’t want do is continue to see just cuts that affect every sector. We don’t want to hurt the economic recovery.” 

Economists have said that temporary factors have, in part, forced some employers to pull back. High gas prices have cut into consumer spending. And supply-chain disruptions stemming from the Japan crisis slowed U.S. manufacturing production. 

The economy typically needs to add 125,000 jobs per month just to keep up with population growth. And at least twice that many jobs are needed to bring down the unemployment rate. 

The economy and job market are remarkably weak two years after the recession officially ended. Unemployment has topped 8 percent for 29 months, the longest streak since the 1930s. 

Unemployment has never been so high so long after a recession ended. At the same point after the previous three recessions, unemployment averaged just 6.8 percent. 

The Grio: Jobs situation even worse for blacks 

There are signs that economy could improve in the second half of the year. Gas prices have come down since peaking in early May at a national average of nearly $4 per gallon. Prices averaged $3.59 a gallon nationwide on Friday, according to AAA. 

And manufacturing activity expanded in June at a faster pace than the previous month, according to the Institute for Supply Management. That suggests the parts shortage caused by the March 11 earthquake in Japan is beginning to abate. 

Still, the government said last month that the economy grew only 1.9 percent in the January-March quarter. Analysts are expecting similarly weak growth in April-June quarter. 

The economy will grow at a 3.2 percent pace in final six months of the year, according to an Associated Press survey of 38 economists. 

However, growth must be stronger to significantly lower the unemployment rate. The economy would need to grow 5 percent for a whole year to significantly bring down the unemployment rate. Economic growth of just 3 percent a year would hold the unemployment steady and keep up with population growth. 

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. 

Read it at msnbc 

From Boehner... “Where Are the Jobs?” 

Congressman Boehner Statement on June Unemployment Report... 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) today released the following statement regarding the latest unemployment figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor: 

“The American people are still asking the question: where are the jobs? Today’s report is more evidence that the misguided ‘stimulus’ spending binge, excessive regulations, and an overwhelming national debt continue to hold back private-sector job creation in our country. Legislation that raises taxes on small business job creators, fails to cut spending by a larger amount than a debt limit hike, or fails to restrain future spending will only make things worse – and won’t pass the House. Republicans are focused on jobs, and are ready to stop Washington from spending money it doesn’t have and make serious changes to the way we spend taxpayer dollars. We hope our Democratic counterparts will join us and seize this opportunity to do something big for our economy and our future, and help get Americans back to work.” 

NOTE: Read the statement signed by more than 150 economists that says, “An increase in the national debt limit that is not accompanied by significant spending cuts and budget reforms would harm private-sector job growth…” And learn more about the Republican blueprint for job creation at Jobs.GOP.Gov.