The United States labor market slowed to a crawl in January, adding just 36,000 jobs in January, far below consensus market forecasts. þþWith 13.9 million people still out of work, the unemployment rate actually fell to 9 percent. þþThe disappointing jobs number, restrained by the January snowstorms and government layoffs, was far below what economists generally say is needed to merely keep pace with normal growth. þþ“We’re not creating jobs as fast as you’d like to see to sustain an economic virtual circle,” the chief economist at OppenheimerFunds, Jerry Webman, said. þþPrivate companies added 50,000 jobs, while federal, state and local governments actually shed 14,000 jobs. þþThe job figures came in a week when several other indicators pointed toward an accelerating recovery. A closely watched survey of purchasing managers rose to its highest level since May 2004, and chain store sales increased at a faster pace than expected in January. þþBut economists noted that job growth would not truly hit the kinds of levels needed to seriously dent the unemployment rate until employers beyond a handful of industries started hiring in earnest. Construction, which was among the hardest hit during the recession, has also not revived. þþ“It’s very brutal in our industry,” said Brantley Barrow, chairman of Hardin Construction, a builder of office buildings, malls and hotels based in Atlanta. “Even though the general economy is getting better, it’s going to be another year or two before things start to improve in our industry.” þþThe numbers underscored the assessment of the Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, who said on Thursday that “until we see a sustained period of stronger job creation, we cannot consider the recovery to be truly established.” þþ
Source: NY Times
