US unemployment rate moves up to 9.1%, economy hits ‘brick wall’

Washington - The US Labor Department newly-released unemployment numbers for May show the nation adding just 54,000 jobs, the lowest number in eight months, and one chief economist noted the economy has hit a “brick wall.”

Latest government figures show unemployment rose to 9.1 percent in May with the job increase number about one-third the number economists were predicting. Even with the dire report, President Barack Obama continues pitching an improved economy. For many Americans however, the economy has never gained momentum in a recession which is the country’s worst economic disaster since the Great Depression. May numbers show the average unemployed person has been in that position for 39.7 weeks, the longest period since tracking such information began in 1948. May’s numbers show almost 14 million Americans are without a job. Paul Ashworth, chief economist at Capital Economics, said: “The economy clearly just hit a brick wall. It’s almost as if it came to a complete standstill,” according to the New York Times. Sounding eerily like the previous White House occupant, President Obama, focused on raising money for his re-election effort, told a group of Chrysler workers in Ohio the economy is growing and for those who’ve been hit by a truck, time is on their side. “Even though the economy is growing, even though it’s created more than two million jobs over the past 15 months, we still face some tough times,” Obama told the group, the Times reports. “You know, it’s just like if you had a bad illness, if you got hit by a truck, it’s going to take a while for you to mend.  And that’s what’s happened to our economy.  It’s taking a while to mend,” he added. The latest job numbers are added to the list of challenges facing the president which include a growing lack of consumer confidence in dealing with rising gas prices and the associated lag effect the recent spike will cause in items across the board. Additionally, the housing market has yet to show any sign of recovery, with new home construction and home sales continuing on their weakened course. Staggering numbers of homes in foreclosure, and in the works to be foreclosed upon, is another key issue facing the president’s re-election hopes. Although foreclosure was once linked to subprime mortgages and other high-risk loans, the growing trend these days in foreclosures is unemployment-related. Factory output and car sales have declined recently, and retailers are reporting disappointing results, the Wall Street Journal notes. “The economy just seems fragile,” said Ethan Harris, economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “The lesson here to policy makers is: ‘Be careful.’” Republicans were quick to jump on the latest job figures, with GOP presidential hopeful and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney placing the blame on Obama’s failed policies. “President Obama’s policies made the recession worse and as a result more people are out of work,” he said, the Times notes. As both political parties continue their divisive tactics, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid on Friday accused Republicans of being “distracted” from the issue of job growth and are instead focused on overhauling Medicare, an issue which just cost the GOP New York’s 26th District in a special House election. Although the White House is urging patience on America’s road to economic recovery, Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research stated what many Americans are already well aware of. “For most people, jobs are front and Center,” NPR reports. “He really lost control of this debate early, and he has to try and get back on the theme of job growth. Or he’ll sit through the rest of his term in stagnation.”