Reaction to jobs report

Not good. Most of the economists cited in the WSJ posting have very little good to say about the June employment numbers. Some examples, compiled by Phil Izzo:

--This was a very ugly labor market report, and there is no amount of lipstick that can improve its image. -Millan L. B. Mulraine, TD Securities

--Private sector job losses in excess of 400,000 this deep into a recession cannot be viewed as anything but terrible news. -Joshua Shapiro, MFR Inc.

--We are encouraged that both the narrow and broad measures of unemployment rose only marginally in June and this, along with the slowing in the rate of private sector job losses, further suggests that the recession is drawing to a close. -RDQ Economics

--Job losses and the weak average hourly wages data suggest weak consumer incomes and thereby consumer spending. The second half gain in GDP will be dominated by federal spending. The test will be if much of the transfer payments are saved, not spent. In the personal income data released last week you saw that most of the money was saved. -John Silvia, Wachovia Economics Group