U.S. job growth barely picked up in June, the latest sign that economic growth has slowed.
Nonfarm payrolls grew by 80,000 last month, the Labor Department said Friday. The politically important unemployment rate, obtained by a separate survey of U.S. households, was unchanged at 8.2%.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a gain of 100,000 in payrolls and the steady June jobless rate.
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Even with June's numbers coming in stronger than the previous two months, the pace of job creation remains well below figures at the start of the year—the economy added an average of 226,000 jobs a month in the first quarter, versus only 75,000 in the second quarter.Expect Republicans to quote former President Clinton. On September 15, 2010, the Toledo Blade reported on what he said at Cuyahoga Community College the previous day:
"The Democrats are saying something like this: 'We found a big hole that we did not dig. We didn't get it filled in 21 months, but at least we quit digging," Mr. Clinton said. "Give us two more years. If it doesn't work, vote us out.'"
Other numbers indicate additional economic clouds. Gallup reports:
At $70, Americans' average daily spending in June was consistent with recent monthly spending levels, and roughly matched June spending in 2010 and 2011. While this represents a more confident consumer than Gallup found in June 2009, when daily spending averaged $61, spending remains suppressed compared with the $104 average in June 2008. [emphasis added]And renewed emphasis on health care may not help perceptions of the president's economic performance, as Gallup also reports:
Americans are more likely to say the 2010 healthcare law upheld by the Supreme Court last week will hurt the national economy (46%) rather than help it (37%), while 18% say they don't know or that it will have no effect.
