“If there were ever a shot across the bow to this administration to get off its laissez-faire boat and start helping the economy, this is it,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.<\/p>\n
The health of the nation’s job market is critical in determining whether the economy will survive the stresses from housing and harder-to-get credit. The positive forces of job and wage growth have helped to cushion individuals from all the negative forces in the economy. The big worry is that people will clamp down on their spending and businesses will put a lid on investment and hiring, throwing the economy into a tailspin.<\/p>\n
For all of 2007, wages increased 3.7 percent, down from a 4.3 percent gain in 2006. High energy prices, though, probably made some workers feel like their paychecks aren’t stretching as far as they would like.<\/p>\n
To fend off the possibility of a recession, the Federal Reserve cut a key interest rate three times last year. Policymakers are expected to lower rates again when they meet at the end of the month. Some analysts are predicting a bold half-point reduction in light of the weak employment report.<\/p>\n
The big question, said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at RBS Greenwich Capital: “Has the economy hit a big pothole or careened into the ditch?”<\/p>\n