EMPLOYMENT: Economy hanging on a Balance as US sputters to 9.1% Unemployment Rate

June 3, 2011

Washington — The Bureau of Labor and Statistics reported an increase to 9.1% in unemployment rate as America’s economy continue to falter amidst various global economic shocks.

Official numbers notched only to a total of 54,000 jobs added for the month of May, significantly less from the average first quarter rate of 220,000 per month. The private sector, meanwhile, did moderately better by adding 83,000 jobs.

The numbers failed to live up with the expectations of economic analysts who predicted more than twice the value of the released figures. “This is what economic stagnation feels like,” said Ron Blackwell, chief economist of AFL-CIO.

Economists attribute the local economy’s lack of steam to the global market, where socio-political revolutions in the Middle-East continue to boost oil prices to intolerable levels and Europe’s economic conundrums still plaguing the west.

Japan’s nuclear disaster, the second worst in history, is also responsible to the stunted global economy, leaving America’s job market in shambles for the first time since 2009.

Political finger-pointing immediately ensued as Republican sentiments blamed the Obama administration’s allegedly weak fiscal policies and overspending.

“I am concerned about it, but I don’t think it’s going to determine where we go,” said U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. She, on the other hand, attributed the cause of the dismal report to bad perception of government policies and the current budget uncertainties.

However, local analysts are still optimistic that the economy will eventually pick up its speed, with observations indicating that the plunge is only caused by temporary events.

But still, expectations have been lowered for many, with Moody’s Analytics seeing employers hiring only about 200,000 jobs for the rest of the year and the National Federation of Independent Businesses reporting a lesser number of firms willing to employ new workers for the next three months.

“We’re still in a muddle-through period,” said Michelle Meyer, an economist of the Bank of America. “The economy has not been derailed, but it’s slow,” she said.