Employers still have the winter blues. Forecasts predict mediocre hiring in February, that probably would have been stronger if snow storms hadnt put a damper on the U.S. economy. The government is scheduled to release its monthly jobs report Friday, and economists surveyed by CNNMoney expect it will show theunemployment rate remained at 6.6%, as the U.S. economy added 150,000 jobs last month. While that would be a slight improvement from January, its still nothing to write home about. In the 12 months leading up to the winter, the economy had been adding an average of 205,000 jobs each month. But then the job market hit a rough patch, which economists mostly blame on severe winter weather. Without winter storms, the forecast for February would have predicted a gain of about 193,000 jobs. And it already appears that the weather had an impact on the job market last month. Payroll processor ADP announced Wednesday that the number of private sector jobs added in February was below forecasts. Extreme winter weather may very well have had an impact on hiring in February and should we get yet another weak jobs report, it will become the excuse du jour for the consistently lackluster recovery in the U.S. labor market, said Sean Snaith, director of the Institute for Economic Competitiveness at the University of Central Florida. Ice and snow storms pummeled the Midwest and eastern parts of the country throughout February. Blizzards can slow the economy and postpone hiring as offices close, flights are canceled, businesses lose power, construction and other outdoor work are put on hold, and consumers stay indoors instead of shopping or eating out. Other recent data show new home construction, retail sales and auto sales all suffered setbacks recently, which industry experts attribute mostly to the colder-than-usual temperatures. If weather truly is the culprit, then the latest bout of weak data should prove temporary, and the economy will likely pick up in the spring.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 15:54:08 +0000
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