Recruitment: US economic slowdown hits hiring
Net new jobs fell unexpectedly to the lowest level in seven months, with just 160,000 additional jobs generated
WASHINGTON:
US employers cut back hiring in April in the wake of the economy’s sharp downturn, raising worries of a protracted slowdown in the world’s largest economy. Net new jobs fell unexpectedly to the lowest level in seven months, with just 160,000 additional jobs generated, over 40,000 less than economists predicted, the Labor Department reported Friday. That was still a strong enough pace to continue absorbing new entrants to the jobs market and bringing down the unemployment rate, which held steady at 5.0%, one of the lowest levels among leading economies. But coming in well below the six-month average of 242,000 jobs, the figure added to concerns that the fall in the pace of overall economic growth to just 0.5% during the January-March period could persist through the current quarter. Analysts said there were enough signs of strength in the fresh data to chalk off April hiring as part of a temporary lull in the economy.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 8th, 2016.
US employers cut back hiring in April in the wake of the economy’s sharp downturn, raising worries of a protracted slowdown in the world’s largest economy. Net new jobs fell unexpectedly to the lowest level in seven months, with just 160,000 additional jobs generated, over 40,000 less than economists predicted, the Labor Department reported Friday. That was still a strong enough pace to continue absorbing new entrants to the jobs market and bringing down the unemployment rate, which held steady at 5.0%, one of the lowest levels among leading economies. But coming in well below the six-month average of 242,000 jobs, the figure added to concerns that the fall in the pace of overall economic growth to just 0.5% during the January-March period could persist through the current quarter. Analysts said there were enough signs of strength in the fresh data to chalk off April hiring as part of a temporary lull in the economy.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 8th, 2016.