Dismal jobs report

(Bloomberg) American employers in May added the smallest number of workers in a year and the unemployment rate unexpectedly increased as job-seekers re-entered the workforce, further evidence that the labor-market recovery is stalling.

Payrolls climbed by 69,000 last month, less than the most- pessimistic forecast in a Bloomberg News survey, after a revised 77,000 gain in April that was smaller than initially estimated, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median estimate called for a 150,000 May advance. The jobless rate rose to 8.2 percent from 8.1 percent, while hours worked declined.

Bigger job and wage gains are needed to jumpstart a self- sustaining increase in hiring and consumer spending that will boost the expansion. At the same time, a looming recession in the euro area and slower growth in China and Brazil may prompt American companies to reduce headcount until they see more evidence the U.S. economy isn’t faltering.

“The robust employment growth at the start of the year has clearly waned,” Ellen Zentner, a senior U.S. economist at Nomura Securities International Inc. in New York, said before the report. “Hiring plans may have been put on hold amidst an increasingly uncertain outlook.” ....................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-01/employment-in-u-s-increased-69-000-in-may.html