US jobs growth slows, spells trouble for economy

By Jason Lange Reuters

Posted at 05/05/2012 8:50 AM | Updated as of 05/05/2012 8:50 AM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Employers cut back on hiring in April and more people stopped looking for work, troubling signs for President Barack Obama whose re-election prospects could hinge on his handling of the economy.
Employers added 115,000 workers to payrolls last month, the Labor Department said on Friday. It was the third straight month in which hiring had slowed, intensifying fears the U.S. recovery is losing momentum.
Even a slight drop in the unemployment rate to 8.1 percent had a dark tone because the fall was due entirely to people dropping out of the workforce.
"The bottom line is you don't have evidence that this economy has reached escape velocity," said Robert Tipp, an investment strategist at Prudential Fixed Income.
Analysts had expected 170,000 new jobs in April, and the shortfall could open the door a bit wider for the Federal Reserve to step up efforts to help the economy.
Major U.S. stock indexes tumbled, with the broad S&P index ending down more than 1.5 percent and yields on benchmark U.S. government bonds sliding to lows not seen in months.
Still, the report was not all negative. The government revised upward earlier estimates for payroll growth in February and March by a combined 53,000 jobs.
POLITICAL ECONOMY
The report could rattle nerves at the White House. Weak U.S. growth and high unemployment create a formidable headwind for Obama, who entered office during the darkest days of the 2007-09 recession.
Obama, who will hold his first campaign rallies on Saturday, said he would urge Congress next week to implement "common-sense ideas" to accelerate job growth.
"We've got to do more if we're going to recover all the jobs lost in the recession," he told a group of students in the Washington suburb of Arlington, Virginia.
His Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, repeated accusations that Obama has not done enough to help Americans get back to work. "We seem to be slowing down, not speeding up. This is not progress. This is very, very disappointing," he told Fox News.
The unemployment rate, which soared to as high as 10 percent during Obama's first year in office, held near 9 percent for most of last year before falling sharply over the winter.
The decline had raised hopes that the economy had turned a corner. Those hopes dimmed on Friday.
Even with the latest decline, the jobless rate remains about 2 percentage points higher than its average over the last 50 years, and the Fed thinks the labor market probably won't be at full health until at least after 2014.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said last month the U.S. central bank is providing enough support for the economy but kept open the possibility of a fresh round of bond purchases to lower borrowing costs should the economy weaken.
"They obviously are going to be on guard now that employment growth is not picking up," said Sean Incremona, an economist at 4Cast.
UNDER PRESSURE
Many economists think the weakness evident in the labor market over the last few months is largely payback for stronger hiring during a mild winter. That would temper fears the economy is losing steam.
Still, the employment report included several ominous numbers. The participation rate, a measure of how many Americans are looking for work, fell to a 30-year low at 63.6 percent of the population.
The retirement of baby boomers has helped push that rate lower but many people also have stopped looking for work because they are discouraged by a sour jobs market. People must be actively seeking work to count as part of the labor force.
The report also showed government payrolls contracted by 15,000, the biggest loss since November. Public payrolls have been under pressure as politicians worry about heavy debt loads and lackluster tax revenues.
The private sector added 130,000 new positions, with manufacturing adding a strong 16,000 jobs. Jobs in transportation and warehousing shrank by almost 17,000.


SOURCE: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/05/05/12/us-jobs-growth-slows-spells-trouble-economy

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As we all know, U.S.A.  is one of the countries that has many job opportunities and one of the richest and most progressive countries in the world. However, the tables have now turned for the U.S. and their unemployment rate is unbelievably increasing.

I would like to put it this way: With this scary increasing unemployment happening right now in the U.S. , the whole world may suffer the consequences.

What this article is saying to me is that the declining economy of U.S. may be a signal to a worldwide economic decline as well.

In reality, there is nothing good that I could say with what is happening. It would mean an International Economic downfall if this would continue  if the U.S. government would not formulate a solution. Our country and our relationship with them would also be at risk, given the fact that majority of the country's investors and businesses are Americans. Our very own Overseas Workers/ Laborers are currently in their territory and working for their families that they here in our country. 

Economics - Mindanao business leaders seek new dialogue with Aquino on power crisis

ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Business leaders in Mindanao want another dialogue with President Benigno S. C. Aquino, III hoping it would result in a comprehensive plan that would address the power crisis in Mindanao.

Ricardo C. Juliano, vice-president for Mindanao of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that this was the call of the business sector after it expressed dissatisfaction over what he described as the President’s "weak solutions" in solving the inadequacy of the electric supply of the region.


"We really hope that the President would listen to us, and to have a real dialogue," he told BusinessWorld.


The power summit in Davao City held last April 13, he said, did not produce any substantive solution noting what President did was to "impose" the government’s stand that stakeholders in Mindanao should pay more in order to stop the rotating blackout.


He said the business sector was dismayed about the changes of the summit’s program that they failed to directly talk to the President and give their suggestions. "We never had a dialogue that is honest and straight," he said.


Mr. Juliano, who was at this city to conduct a series of consultations for the upcoming Mindanao Business Conference in August, said business leaders are asking for the government to give them the real figures and details on the financial state and conditions of the hydroelectric plants.


"There’s a lack of transparency," he said, referring to the government’s presentation in justifying the sale of the Agus and Pulangi hydroelectric plants. Mr. Juliano said they were made to understand that the sale is necessary to pay the standing debt of the state-run National Power Corp. (Napocor) amounting to at least P900 billion.


He said the business sector is asking the government why after the sale of its assets in Luzon and the Visayas, Napocor still has a huge debt. "Who’s subsidizing, who?" he asked, pointing out that there was no proper disclosure on details of the debt.


"We asked for the executive department to put the Mindanao Development Authority on board whenever there is transaction in these power plants," Mr. Juliano said. There was negligence, he claimed, on why hydroelectric plants are left with no proper maintenance in years hence deteriorating its capacities in delivering power supply.


Ranking officials of the Department of Energy in Metro Manila could not be contacted immediately by phone on Friday to respond to Mr. Juliano’s statements. In previous interviews in Davao, however, Energy undersecretary Josefina Patricia M. Asirit said privatization of hydroelectric plants in Mindanao is currently not a priority of the government in solving the Mindanao power shortage explaining the matter is up for lawmakers in Congress to decide. -- Darwin T. Wee

Source: http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Nation&title=Mindanao-business-leaders-seek-new-dialogue-with-Aquino-on-power-crisis&id=50351

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Mindanao is a large island consists of many cities and provinces that need electricity for daily needs. It is also an island full of businesses that are dependent to electricity. However, due to the increase of demand and the decreasing supply of electricity, Mindanao is running out of resources. And now, the solution that the president is offering is to get or purchase electricity from private companies that can fill in the scarce resources.

I have actually experienced this "rotating brown-out" here in Davao City. And it was not really good. For me, as a student, it was such a hassle especially when I'm at school or when I am doing paperwork in front of a computer. I need to do things all over again and it takes a lot of time. 


The only solution that the government thinks to solve this shortage is by buying electricity from the private sector. This would signal the increase of charges for electricity.


This would mean the our country is rich in resources and proof that we can be self-sufficient if we would develop it further. This means that we are a rich country, and with proper leadership, governance and set of laws, we could sustain on our own needs.


I would recommend to the President himself to explore more natural resources of electricity and not to resort to these kinds of solutions such as rotational brown-outs. Our own government should realize that our country is lush with natural resources and be open to development. 


Personally, I would go for the proposed solution of the President to end such misery and for the private sectors' resources be used and not stocked or wasted. This "rotating brown-out" is a nuisance to business firms, and especially to students like me. This electricity shortage problem is a living proof that Mindanao is also booming in terms of development and urbanization. It will continue to be a nuisance to us citizens unless the other people of Mindanao are willing to pay higher electric bills and continue with our lives.

STUDY STUDY STUDY

Our finals/ departmental exams will be starting this wednesday and I'M SOOOOOO NERVOUS ESPCIALLY IN MATH.

I need to start studying tomorrow. That means:
NO FACEBOOK
NO BLOGGING
NO TUMBLRING
NO TWITTER
NO YOUTUBE

NO INTERNET

where's justice? I HOPE THAT I WOULD GET GOOD RESULTS FROM MY HARD WORK.

please bear with my grammar and vocabulary, I'm so not confident about it. :/

Good night.

After staying up all night just to learn everything (OK fine, i exaggerated a bit) here in blogger, I FINALLY KNOW HOW TO DO SOME STUFF HERE!!! YEAAYY.

but, still, things in here in blogger are way more complicated than in tumblr. Just sayin'. (please no bashing! *_*)

MAKE-UP DAY!

My cousin(ate rae) had a date with her boyfriend last Sunday, (Oct 2, 2011) . She asked for my help on her HAIR & MAKE-UP..
Deep inside, I was like "Uh-oh. i think i might mess up and ruin her date", but I still said yes to her.
She wanted to have her hair French braided and her make-up to be simple.

I did what she wanted for her hair, and it was kinda fine but it still needs a lot of improvement. About her make-up. Hmm... I was really freaking out deep inside because the last time I her MUA, it didn't end the way I wanted it to be. But, thanks to her new L.A. Colors Baked Eyeshadow and some of her brushes(yes, we can't afford MAC and the like), It was really really pretty and I succeeded! YAY ME! :)

I'll be posting the pictures soon!


Thanks for reading and God Bless!

I...

I BADLY NEED HELP!

I am faced with the fact that tumblr and blogger (though they may sound similar), are TOTALLY DIFFERENT when it comes to editing & technical stuff! HEEEEEEELPP MEEEE

-_-

Heeeeyyy there..

hey! so I'm not really a noob in blogging (because i have a tumblr account), but this is my first serious post.

I made this account for the purpose of following the fashion and make-up bloggers. But I hope to discover and enjoy a lot of things here. *fingers crossed*

Hope to post again soon!

Thanks for reading! :*