As foreshadowed earlier in the week, today’s job report confirms that the American economy remains stagnant.

From the statement by BLS Commssioner Keith Hall:

In May, nonfarm payroll employment changed little (+54,000), following increases that averaged 220,000 in the prior 3 months. The unemployment rate was essentially unchanged, at 9.1 percent, in May.  Employment in the private sector was up by 83,000, compared with an average monthly gain of 244,000 in the prior 3
months.

That’s not good. The Wall Street Journal has a guick rundown of the partisan responses. You could probably fill in the blanks yourself.

Robert Reich offers his usual understated assessment of the data.

The May jobs report is a disaster — the weakest reading since September…

The overall jobless rate rose to 9.1 percent.

Together with plummeting housing prices, falling wages for non-supervisory workers, a paltry 1.8 percent growth in the first quarter, and a precipitous drop in consumer confidence, the picture should be clear to anyone able to see clearly.

The recovery has stalled.

We’re not in a double dip yet, but the odds are increasing.

The chief economist for the National Association of Manufacturers gives his take on it here.

At Calculated Risk they’ve updated the employment chart that captures the depth and length of the recession most strikingly. (Click here for expanded chart.)

The current employment recession is by far the worst recession since WWII in percentage terms, and 2nd worst in terms of the unemployment rate (only the early ’80s recession with a peak of 10.8 percent was worse).

Expect a downward revision in the trend for state revenue collections.