Households continue to pay down debt and rebuild some of the net worth that was destroyed during the recession. Higher energy and food prices have been a drag on recent consumer spending. But more important than gas prices for the health of the economy and the strength of consumer spending is job growth. So let me turn to labor markets.
Labor markets Overall, conditions in the labor markets continue to gradually improve. But the path has not been a smooth one nor has it been as robust as one might like. In May, nonfarm payrolls expanded by 54,000 jobs, after growing by 232,000 jobs in April and 194,000 in March. The U.S. economy has added over 780,000 jobs since the first of the year.