U.S. Payrolls Probably Fell in June as Factories Slowed, Economists Say

[marmar]

from Bloomberg:



Payrolls Probably Fell, Factories Slowed: U.S. Economy Preview

By Bob Willis

June 29 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. employers probably cut jobs in June for a sixth consecutive month, while manufacturing contracted at a faster pace, signaling the expansion is still at risk, economists said before reports this week.

Payrolls shrank by 60,000 workers, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before the Labor Department's report on July 3. The unemployment rate may have fallen after jumping last month by the most in two decades.

Mounting job losses, record gasoline prices and tumbling home values have crushed consumer confidence, raising concern that spending will retrench once the lift from the tax rebates fades. Businesses are also purchasing less equipment as fuel costs soar, prompting factories to scale back.

``Job growth is going to be non-existent for the next six months,'' Maria Fiorini Ramirez, president of MFR Inc. in New York, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. ``The economy is sort of staggering along.''

The projected drop in payrolls would follow a decline of 49,000 in May that brought the number of jobs lost so far this year to 324,000. Factory payrolls probably shrank by 30,000, economists forecast, after a 26,000 decline the prior month.

The jobless rate this month probably fell to 5.4 percent from 5.5 percent in May, according to the survey median. The rate jumped a half percentage point last month, the most since February 1986.

The report will be released on a Thursday rather than the customary first Friday of the month because of the Fourth of July holiday in the U.S. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aykUcWGnPYpg&refer=home

[Karenina]

1. Probably???

:rofl: