Bad news from the US economy. In June, the US labor market confirmed the slowdown seen in the second quarter: 80.000 new jobs were created, a figure well below the 96 expected by analysts. The unemployment rate, as reported by the US Labor Department, remained unchanged at 8,2%, in line with consensus forecasts.
The data weighed on Wall Street, which opened in the red. At the start, the Dow Jones index fell by 0,94%. The Nasdaq slips 0,70% and the Standard & Poor's 500 slips 0,91%.
Although June's figure is better than the previous month (77.000 jobs were created in May, numbers revised up from 69.000 in the first estimate), it is still not enough to convince markets that the US economy is taking the right turn, especially as the April figure was further revised downwards (from 77.000 to 68.000 units). So they seem confirmed the gloomy predictions of Christine Lagardenumber one of the IMF.
An average of 226.000 jobs were created per month in the January-March period, compared with 75.000 per month in the April-June period. The combined effect of the persistence of the debt crisis in Europe, the slowdown in growth in emerging economies and the internal problems of the United States weighs heavily, not least the possible increase in the tax burden upon expiry of the reliefs currently in force.
And the situation doesn't look set to improve: the International Monetary Fund said today it will cut global growth estimates, the Federal Reserve forecasts anemic US growth of between 1,9 and 2,4% in 2012, with an unemployment rate nailed between 8 and 8,2%.
Obama – whose reelection is based on these numbers – is betting everything on the fact that, even if the unemployment rate is still very high, the private sector is gaining momentum. In this sector, 84.000 jobs were created in June, while the public sector cut 7.000 positions.
In detail, 47.000 people were hired in the professional and business services sector and 11.000 in the manufacturing sector (however, in the quarter the average was 10.000 new jobs per month, less than the 41.000 in the first quarter).
Average wages rose 6 cents to $23,50 an hour, while the average work week lengthened by 0,1 hour to 34,5 hours. Including both job seekers and those content with part-time work, the unemployment rate rose to 14,9% in June from 14,8% the previous month. Finally, participation in the labor market remained unchanged at 63,8%.
