AP: US hiring grinds to a near-halt; many stop looking for work

From the Associated Press online:

U.S. hiring slowed to a near-standstill in May, sowing doubts about the economy's health and complicating the Federal Reserve's efforts to raise interest rates.

While unemployment slid from 5 percent to 4.7 percent, the lowest since November 2007, the rate fell for a troubling reason: Nearly a half-million jobless Americans stopped looking for work and so were no longer counted as unemployed.

Employers added just 38,000 jobs in May, the fewest in over five years.

Less-educated workers bore the brunt of the hiring slump, with a quarter-million high-school dropouts losing their jobs in May.

That has perpetuated a long-term trend toward a two-tiered job market, with college-educated adults more likely to be employed and earning steady raises.
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Link: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ECONOMY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-06-03-15-38-20