Job Growth Halts; Unemployment Rate Stays At 9.1 Percent & Employers added no net jobs in August, while unemployment rate was unchanged at 9.1 pct. 2SEP11

Good to see the extension of the bush tax cuts for the rich and corporate America continue to lift the nation out of recession....I just don't understand what is wrong with the unemployed and why they just don't get a job! I mean, with American corporations creating jobs in India and China so what if you'd have to relocate!!! Way to go Pres Obama, we expect nothing but the same from your jobs proposal next week, pending approval by your gop and tea-bagger buddies of course! From NPR and The Washington Post.....
There was no net growth in jobs in August and the nation's unemployment rate stayed at 9.1 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics just reported.
The latest sign that the labor market remains weak comes as President Obama prepares to lay out his latest plan for boosting job growth — during an address to Congress next Thursday — and as the Republicans vying to run against him next year offer their alternatives.
We'll be updating this post with details from the BLS report, and our colleagues at Planet Money will have more on it as well.
Update at 10:15 a.m. ET. White House Comment:
While the jobless rate remains "unacceptably high" and employment "was flat" last month, "the economy has added private sector jobs for 18 straight months, for a total of 2.4 million jobs over that period," notes Katharine Abraham, a member of the president's Council of Economic Advisers. She adds that:

"Next week, the president will lay out a series of additional bipartisan steps that Congress can take immediately to put more money in the paychecks of working and middle class families; to make it easier for small businesses to hire workers; to put construction crews to work rebuilding our nation's infrastructure; and other measures that will help the economy grow while still reducing our deficit and getting our fiscal house in order."

Update at 9:35 a.m. ET. Market Drops:
As many had expected would happen, the dismal news on jobs hasn't gone over well on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average and other indices are down sharply just after the opening of trading.
Update at 9:10 a.m. ET. How Payroll Employment Has Changed:

Enlarge Bureau of Labor Statistics The economy officially slipped into recession in December 2007 and officially came out in mid-2009. Here's a look at the number of jobs from January 2007 through August of this year.

Update at 8:55 a.m. ET. Boehner Blames Taxes, A "Failed" Stimulus And Regulations.
House Speaker John Boehner's office just released this statement from the Ohio Republican:

"Private-sector job growth continues to be undermined by the triple threat of higher taxes, more failed 'stimulus' spending, and excessive federal regulations. Together, these Washington policies have created a fog of uncertainty that's left small businesses unable to hire and American families worried about the future.
"President Obama is slated to address Congress next week and I look forward to hearing his ideas to bolster private-sector job creation. The American people are still asking, 'where are the jobs?' Republicans are listening and focusing on removing barriers to job growth, whether it's eliminating unnecessary regulations that drive up prices or stopping Washington from spending money it doesn't have. I'm hopeful the White House will take this opportunity to work with us to end the uncertainty facing families and small businesses, and create a better environment for long-term economic growth and private-sector job creation."

Update at 8:52 a.m. ET. Early Headlines:
— "Employment In U.S. Stagnated In August." (Bloomberg News)
— "Economy Fails To Add Jobs." (The Wall Street Journal)
— "Job Growth Grinds To A Halt." (Reuters)
Update at 8:47 a.m. ET. Labor Force Shrinks:
One reason the jobless rate held steady even though there was no job growth: 165,000 fewer people were counted as being part of the "labor force."
Update at 8:45 a.m. ET. Private Payrolls, Government Payrolls:
There was a scant, 17,000-increase, in jobs on private payrolls and an equal-sized decline in employment at government agencies.
Update at 8:36 a.m. ET. July Revised Down: Not only is BLS saying there was no net increase in jobs in August, it has also revised down its estimate of how many jobs were added to payrolls in July — to 85,000 from the preliminary estimate of 117,000.

Tags: unemployment rate, jobs report

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Employers added no net jobs in August, while unemployment rate was unchanged at 9.1 pct.

By Associated Press, Updated: Friday, September 2, 10:34 AM

WASHINGTON — Employers stopped adding jobs in August, an alarming setback for an economy that has struggled to grow and might be at risk of another recession.
The government also reported that the unemployment rate remained at 9.1 percent. It was the weakest jobs report since September 2010.
Stocks tumbled on the news. The Dow Jones industrial average sank more than 190 points in early-morning trading.
A strike by 45,000 Verizon workers lowered the job totals. Those workers are now back on the job.
The weakness in employment was underscored by revisions to the jobs data for June and July. Collectively, those figures were lowered to show 58,000 fewer jobs added. The downward revisions were all in government jobs.
The average work week also declined and hourly earnings fell by 3 cents to $23.09.
Weak growth, Standard & Poor’s downgrade of long-term U.S. debt in early August and a sell-off on Wall Street likely kept some businesses from hiring.
With job creation stalled and wages declining, consumers won’t see much gain in incomes. That will limit their ability to spend, which undercuts growth. Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of the economy.
“The stagnation in U.S. payroll employment is an ominous sign,” said Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics. “The broad message is that even if the US economy doesn’t start to contract again, any expansion is going to be very, very modest and fall well short of what would be needed to drive the still elevated unemployment rate lower.”
Many investors who dumped stocks sought the safety of U.S. Treasurys. The burst of buying drove the yield on the 10-year Treasury note down to 2.06 percent, near the record low of roughly 2 percent.
No growth in hiring puts more pressure on President Barack Obama, who will deliver a rare address to a joint session of Congress next week to introduce a plan for creating jobs.
The Obama administration has estimated that unemployment will average about 9 percent next year, when Obama will run for re-election. The rate was 7.8 percent when Obama took office.
The White House Office of Management and Budget projects overall growth of only 1.7 percent this year.
The economy needs to add roughly 250,000 jobs a month to rapidly bring down the unemployment rate, which has been above 9 percent in all but two months since May 2009.
In August, the private sector added 17,000 jobs, the fewest since February 2010. That compares with 156,000 in July and 75,000 in June.
Hiring fell across many different sectors. Manufacturers cut 3,000 jobs, its first decline since October 2010. Construction companies, retailers, and transportation firms also cut workers.
The health care industry added 30,000 jobs last month.
The economy expanded at an annual pace of only 0.7 percent in the first six months of the year. That was the slowest six months of growth since the recession officially ended in June 2009.
In August, consumer confidence fell to its lowest level since April 2009, according to the Conference Board.
Most economists forecast that growth may improve to about a 2 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter. But that’s not fast enough to generate many jobs.