Yet another worrying jobs report for Obama

Yet another worrying jobs report for Obama Friday’s weak US employment report confirms a disappointing historical pattern: after an encouraging start to the year, job creation has again hit a soft patch. To make things worse, there is a distinct possibility that, absent major policy initiatives on both sides of the Atlantic, the US economy may not accelerate as quickly as many hope – thus increasing America’s vulnerability to the deepening crisis in Europe, writes Mohamed El-Erian.

The report again highlights the vulnerability of the employment situation. Net job creation in May amounted to only 69,000, well below consensus expectations of 150,000 and nowhere near the pace needed to address the large shortfall that persists more than three years after the global financial crisis. The unemployment rate inched up to 8.2 per cent, with the employed to adult population ratio at a worrisomely level of only 58.6 per cent.
http://link.ft.com/r/VKY5JJ/62U08L/3O62UJ/XHMSFI/B58CPI/T3/h?a1=2012&a2=6&a3=1