Unemployment Rises to 8.2 Percent, Reversing Yearlong Downward Trend
The unemployment rate rose a tenth of a percent to 8.2 percent in May, reversing a yearlong downward trend, a bad sign for President Obama whose reelection rests on the state of the economy.
The economy picked up only 69,000 jobs in May, the Labor Department reported on Friday, well below even the lowest expectations. Economists polled by Bloomberg expected jobs growth of 150,000 and the unemployment rate to remain at 8.1 percent, a three-year low.
The last time monthly unemployment declined was April, 2011. Job growth in March and April was also revised downward. Over the last two years, the Labor Department has revised monthly jobs growth up 34 times and down 13 times.
The poor jobs report comes a day after a trio of lackluster economic data.
