Wasn’t it just last month when Barack Obama told us the private sector is doing fine?
Meanwhile, in the real world…
Manufacturing shrunk in June for the first time in three years.
The AP reported:
U.S. manufacturing shrank in June for the first time in nearly three years, a troubling sign as evidence builds that economic growth is slowing.
The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, said Monday that its index of manufacturing activity fell to 49.7. That’s down from 53.5 in May and the lowest reading since July 2009, one more after the recession officially ended. Readings below 50 indicate contraction.
Production fell to a three-year low and a measure of new orders plummeted by the most in more than a decade, suggesting the weakness will likely persist in the coming months.
Stocks, which had largely been flat when the market opened, fell immediately after the report was released at 10 a.m. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped more than 70 points in morning trading.
“This is not good. Not good at all,” said Dan Greenhaus, chief economic strategist at BTIG, an institutional brokerage. While the report “does not mean recession for the broader economy, it is still a terribly weak number.”
Manufacturing, which has helped drive growth since the Great Recession ended, has begun to falter as the U.S. job market has fizzled and global growth has weakened.
It looks like Obamanomics is working out just as planned.