Fewer American workers entered the labor market in May than at any time in the past six years [Xinhua]
The US economy has added the fewest number of non-farm payroll jobs since September 2010, a Labor Department report on Friday showed.
Economists had predicted an addition of 160,000 jobs for May but the report on Friday showed that only 38,000 new workers entered the economy during that month.
According to the report, there has been a significant hiring slowdown in major US industries such as the mining sector, manufacturing, and construction. Low oil prices, which have led major energy companies to slash their investments, have also contributed to a drastic drop in hiring in that sector.
The economy added 123,000 workers in April.
The blistering low number is likely to negatively impact expectations that the US Federal Reserve will move to increase interest rates this summer.
Although the unemployment rate has fallen further to 4.7 per cent (it hit more than 10 per cent in 2009), some analysts are calling May’s jobs report a “dire warning” following the lackluster first quarter GDP growth.
With jobs growth falling well below the 200,000 mark that had dominated most of 2015, hopes of a second quarter GDP rebound now appear slim.
The BRICS Post with inputs from Agencies
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