June 6, 2011
By Harry Kelber
For a third year, the economic recovery in the United States is floundering, raising fears of a global slowdown as the European crisis escalates Last month, the nation’s employers added the lowest number of jobs in a year, and the unemployment rate actually rose a fraction of a point, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The United States gained a net 69,000 jobs in May, for an average of 96,000 over each of the last three months. That is down from an average of 245,000 gain on average for the three month period of December-February. The unemployment rate rose from 8.1 percent to 8.2 percent.
Unemployment checks will run out this summer for more than 100,000 people. Those who have been out of work for 27 weeks or more will have an even smaller chance of getting a job in a weak labor market. Neither Republicans nor Democrats have come up with a sensible solution to the jobs problem.
