Here we go again folks, the recession isn't over and "recovery" summer round II is just getting started as gas prices and the unemployment rate remain high.
Private-sector payroll growth slowed sharply in May, coming in far below expectations and falling to the lowest level in eight months, a report by a payrolls processor showed on Wednesday.
The ADP Employer Services report showed private employers added a scant 38,000 jobs last month, while April private payrolls were revised down to an increase of 177,000 from the previously reported 179,000. Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast a gain of 175,000 jobs for May.
The report is jointly developed with Macroeconomic Advisers LLC.
"Obviously a much weaker-than-expected report, hinting that Friday's nonfarm data will also be weaker than expected," said Camilla Sutton, senior currency strategist at Scotia Capital in Toronto, referring to the U.S. Labor Department's monthly non-farm payrolls report due for Friday.
"We've seen general softening in U.S. data, and that's a concern about how the recovery is maintaining itself. Markets are starting to turn their attention to this."
FLASHBACK to Summer 2010 (June 17, 2010):
Administration Kicks Off "Recovery Summer" with Groundbreakings and Events Across the Country
President Obama, Vice President Biden and Other Administration Officials to Highlight Surge in Recovery Act Infrastructure Projects This Summer
WASHINGTON, DC – The Administration today kicks off “Recovery Summer,” a six-week-long focus on the surge in Recovery Act infrastructure projects that will be underway across the country in the coming months – and the jobs they’ll create well into the fall and through the end of the year. The Recovery Act has already funded tens of thousands of projects and put about 2.5 million Americans to work, but summer 2010 is actually poised to be the most active Recovery Act season yet, with tens of thousands of projects underway across the country that will help to create jobs for American workers and economic growth for businesses, large and small. For example:
* Highway Projects: There will be six times as many highway projects underway in July 2010 as in July 2009 – projects will surge from 1,750 last summer to over 10,000 this summer.
* Clean and Drinking Water: This summer over 2,800 clean and drinking water projects will be underway versus just over 100 last summer – more than 20 times as many.
* Home Weatherization: This summer, 82,000 homes will be weatherized versus 3,000 last summer – 27 times as many homes this summer as last.
* National Parks: This July, nearly 800 projects will be underway at national parks versus just over 100 last July – 8 times as many this summer.
As part of Recovery Summer, President Obama, Vice President Biden and other Administration officials will travel to more than two dozen Recovery Act project sites in the coming weeks, highlighting the surge in project activity and the Recovery Act’s steady climb to 3.5 million jobs by the end of the year.
Yeah, that $1 trillion in stimulus is really working.