June Employment Loss Represents a Big Bump for the Economy

 

The unemployment rate rose from 9.4% in May to 9.5% in June. Ironically, when the economy begins producing jobs again, the unemployment rate is likely to rise as people who had left the labor market out of frustration start seeking jobs again. Expect the unemployment rate to top out near 10% early next year. ?EUR??,,????'??? Courtesy of www.msnbc.com

The loss of 467,000 jobs in June was an unpleasant shock to those who thought we were seeing slow improvement in the jobs market. In May, 322,000 jobs were lost, a definite improvement over the first quarter?EUR??,,????'???s average loss of 691,000 jobs. Employment will take time to recover as the market eventually picks up.

Still, this report should be kept in perspective. Although we cannot rule out unexpected bumps, such as June?EUR??,,????'???s jobs report, we expect employment losses to slow over the remainder of the year. We are looking for job gains, albeit small, in the first half of 2010. ?EUR??,,????'??? Courtesy of NAHB