U.S.Economy Adds Only 38,000 Jobs In The Month Of May.

Richard Cohen, Robert Charmak, Peter Tuchman

 

Traders Richard Cohen, left, Robert Charmak, center, and Peter Tuchman, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, June 3, 2016. Stocks are broadly lower in early trading and bond prices are higher after the government reported a sharp slowdown in hiring last month.

 
US stocks, dollar slide after weak jobs report
A slide in financial and consumer stocks led U.S. indexes lower in midday trading Friday as investors weighed the implications of a key government report showing that hiring slowed sharply in May. The downbeat job survey was a sign of economic weakness that could dissuade the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates this month. The dollar fell sharply against most major currencies, while bond prices surged as investors sought safety in U.S. government-backed debt.

 

June 03, 2016
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average fell 41 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,796 as of 12:16 p.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index shed eight points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,096. The Nasdaq composite index lost 32 points, or 0.7 percent, to 4,939.

 
US ECONOMY: The Labor Department reported that the U.S. economy added only 38,000 jobs in May, the lowest amount in five years. The unemployment rate fell to 4.7 percent from 5 percent, but mainly because about half a million unemployed people stopped looking for work. Separate reports out Friday also showed a mixed snapshot of the economy. The Institute of Supply Management said U.S. services firms grew in May at the slowest pace in more than two years, while the Commerce Department said orders to U.S. factories rose in April by the largest amount in six months.

 
THE QUOTE: The jobs report is likely to push the Federal Reserve to hold off raising its key interest rate any time soon, said Terry DuFrene, global investment specialist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. “It certainly takes off the table any kind of chance of a rate movement at all in the month of June,” DuFrene said. “Now that’s got to be pushed out until maybe the early fall before there’s any sort of rate movement at all.”

 

 

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