Weak U.S. Employment Report

After several strong employment reports earlier in the year, and a mixed message last month, this month's employment report was decidedly weak.

While private sector employment rose somewhat according to the payroll survey, the increase was a relatively weak 83,000-less than is needed to keep pace with the increase in population. Furthermore, the average work week fell and so did average hourly earnings.

Meanwhile, the household survey showed a decline in employment by 301,000. Even excluding census workers, this implies an even weaker picture than the payroll survey.

This number confirms the picture from for example the ISM manufacturing survey, car sales and construction spending that the U.S. recovery is slowing down significantly right now.