WASHINGTON — The jobs crisis isn’t getting worse. But it isn’t getting much better, either.
The economy added just enough jobs last month to ease fears of a new recession. But hiring is still too weak to bring down unemployment, which has been stuck at about 9 percent for more than two years.
The nation added 103,000 jobs in September, an improvement from the month before, the Labor Department said Friday. But the total includes 45,000 Verizon workers who were rehired after going on strike and were counted as job gains.
Even counting those workers, the job gains weren’t enough to get the economy going. It takes about 125,000 jobs a month just to keep up with population growth. For September, the unemployment rate stayed stuck at 9.1 percent.
“Well, the sky is not falling just yet,” Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors, said in a note to clients. But there was nothing great about the report, he added. “It’s incredible how low our sights have been set.”
On one hand, the unemployment report was encouraging for economists. Some of them had feared the nation would lose jobs in September, raising the risk of a painful second recession.
But everyday Americans can’t take much solace from it, either. The Great Recession has been over for almost 2 1/2 years, and while corporate profits and the stock market have bounced back in that time, unemployment is still high.
There are 14 million people counted as unemployed in the United States. An additional 9.3 million are working part time and would rather work full time. And 2.5 million more have simply given up looking for a job.
The Labor Department said the economy added more jobs than first estimated in July and August. The government’s first reading had said the economy added zero jobs in August.
While the report was clearly better than feared, it also showed the economy is not gaining much momentum, said Tom Porcelli, chief U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets.
“It moves you away from the ledge,” he said.
It was also discouraging news for President Barack Obama, who will almost certainly have to wage his 2012 campaign under the highest unemployment of any president running for re-election since World War II.
Gene Sperling, a White House economic adviser, said the administration was “slightly comforted” that the jobs figure came in better than expected. But he said it was not good enough.
Obama, adopting a combative tone as he waits for the Republicans to settle on a nominee to oppose him, has challenged Congress to get behind his $447 billion jobs bill or risk being run out of Washington.
Facts and figures
Unemployment has been stuck near 9 percent since the recession ended more than two years ago. The September jobs report, released Friday, sent the clearest signal that the crisis will last through next year’s elections. Here’s a look at the wide-ranging consequences of chronically weak job growth.
Wages: A crippled labor market shifts bargaining power to employers. Workers have little leverage to seek raises. When adjusted for inflation, pay was nearly 2 percent less in August than it was a year earlier, according to the Labor Department.
Government budgets: High unemployment squeezes government finances in at least two ways. Lost jobs mean governments collect less tax revenue. And they have to spend more on unemployment benefits, food stamps and other social programs.
Young people: Breaking into the job market is increasingly hard for high school and college graduates. Businesses aren’t creating many jobs. And workers who have jobs are holding on to them. That leaves young people with few openings to apply for.
The underemployed and the hopeless: In September, nearly 9.3 million Americans had to settle for part-time work even though they wanted full-time jobs. That was up 440,000 from August. An additional 2.5 million want to work but have given up looking.
Baby boomers: Aging boomers are less likely to lose their jobs than younger workers. But when they do, they have a tougher time finding new jobs. Would-be employers tend to choose younger, cheaper applicants. Some fear that older workers will bolt for a better-paying job once they can.
