U.S. growth anaemic, debt row poses recession risk, Posted by Meosha Eaton

(Reuters) - The U.S. economy stumbled badly in the first half of 2011 and came dangerously close to contracting in the January-March period, raising the risk of a recession if a standoff over the nation's debt does not end quickly.

Output increased at a 1.3 percent annual pace in the second quarter as consumer spending barely rose, the Commerce Department said on Friday. In the first three months of the year, the economy advanced just 0.4 percent, a sharp downward revision from the previously reported 1.9 percent gain.

Obama Administration adds .2m Jobs in March, Posted by Meosha Eaton

By Williams Ekanem


WASHINGTON - The Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Austan Goolsbee said employment report shows that private sector payrolls increased by 230,000 in March, marking 13 consecutive months of private employment growth.

A breakdown shows that private sector employers added 1.8 million jobs over that period, including more than half a million jobs in the last three months.
The unemployment rate fell for the fourth straight month to 8.8 percent.

The full percentage point drop in the unemployment rate over the past four months is the largest such decline since 1984, and, importantly, it has been driven primarily by increased employment, rather than people leaving the labor force, he indicated.

According to him, as long as millions of people are looking for jobs, there is still considerable work to do to replace the jobs lost in the downturn. Nonetheless, the steep decline in the jobless rate and the solid employment growth in recent months are encouraging.

He added that the last two months of private job gains have been the strongest in five years.

“We are seeing signs that the initiatives put in place by this Administration – such as the payroll tax cut and business incentives for investment – are creating the conditions for sustained growth and job creation. We will continue to work with Congress to find ways to reduce spending, so that we can live within our means and focus on the investments that are most likely to help grow our economy and create jobs - investments in education, infrastructure, and clean energy,” he emphasized.

My Africa Channel Television found out that in addition to the increases last month, the estimates of private sector job growth for January (now +94,000) and February (now +240,000) were revised up significantly. Overall payroll employment rose by 216,000 in March. Payroll employment grew in almost every sector. Solid employment increases occurred in professional and business services (+78,000), education and health services (+45,000), leisure and hospitality (+37,000), wholesale and retail trade (+31,800), and manufacturing (+17,000). Local government experienced a decline of 15,000, and has shed jobs in 16 of the past 17 months.

The overall trajectory of the economy has improved dramatically over the past two years, but there will surely be bumps in the road ahead. The monthly employment and unemployment numbers are volatile and employment estimates are subject to substantial revision. Therefore, as the Administration always stresses, it is important not to read too much into any one monthly report.

UN News: Argentina's Response to Economic Crisis through Social Protection, Posted by Menelik Zeleke

Record unemployment is one of the consequences of the global economic crisis, but in Argentina, fewer jobs were lost in the crisis than in many other countries. A new report from the ILO found that's because Argentina learned some lessons from a bitter experience in the past, and protected jobs when hard times came around again.