Another dismal jobs report

Fri, 07/06/2012 - 7:41am | posted by Jason Pye

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported this morning that the economy produced 80,000 jobs in June and the unemployment rate held steady at 8.2%. Forecasters expected anywhere from 90,000 to 100,000 jobs. BLS also revised numbers for April, reducing the number created by 9,000 from +77,000 to +68,000 jobs, and May, upward by 8,000 to +77,000 jobs. The U-6 rate, what some economists call the “real” measure of unemployment, actually edged up from 14.8% to 14.9%.

In order to keep up with population growth, the economy needs to produce 120,000 to 150,000 jobs per month.