Is U.S job growth already over?

The U.S. labor market continued to add jobs in April, but the 115,000 jobs created during the month represented a further slowdown from the robust hiring figures seen at the beginning of the year. The weakening hiring trends, initially thought to be a temporary correction for strong hiring in a mild winter, are now giving rise to fears that the job market has stalled. This is the concerning headline of the new edition of Kelly´s U.S. Talent Market Monthly.

Here is a short summary of the trends they are seeing now:

- Employment gains were sluggish in April, as hiring continued on a very modest pace and the unemployment rate edged down.

- The U.S. economy created an average of more than 200,000 jobs per month in the first four months of 2012, showing some resilience despite slower GDP growth in the first quarter.

- Lackluster U.S. growth prospects and an uncertain global outlook may lead to a more prolonged and muted recovery in the labor market.

Additionally U.S. economic growth slowed in the first quarter, and recent indicators have also been mixed. The economy remains vulnerable to setbacks including higher oil prices and uncertainty in the Eurozone. As a result, economic growth is likely to pick up only slightly throughout the year and remain well short of the level needed to spur robust job creation. These anemic growth prospects suggest that bringing down the unemployment rate and raising employment back to its pre-recession levels may take longer than expected.

More U.S. Labor market trends in this new report, free for download here.