US jobs slip raises fears over economic recovery
Doubts over the health of the US recovery grew today after the world's biggest economy created far fewer jobs than expected last month.
Keenly-watched non-farm payrolls data showed employers adding 103,000 jobs overall, well short of the 175,000 figure expected by analysts.
The Federal Reserve is likely to press on with its $600 billion (£387 billion) "QE2" programme to boost the money supply after private firms created only 113,000 jobs.
The US jobless rate fell to 9.4% from 9.8%, the lowest since May 2009, but Conference Board macroeconomics director Kathy Bostjancic said the data "reinforces the strong challenges still facing the US economy".
"Today's number, combined with the steady decline in jobless claims, suggests we are only seeing a slowdown in lay-offs, not yet a material pick-up in hiring," she warned.
"Labour market improvement is still way slower than what everybody would hope for," UniCredit Research chief economist Harm Bandholz added.
