"Today's jobs report is just another wake-up call for this administration to quit its threats to veto additional unemployment insurance for hard-hit workers and to actively work with Congress to address the more systemic problems dragging down our economy."
Californians have been particularly affected by expiring unemployment benefits, with 1 million losing their payments in the last year, said Maurice Emsellem, policy co-director of the National Employment Law Project. "There's every indication the situation will get much worse before it gets better," Emsellem added.
In a further sign of strain on consumers, the Federal Reserve reported that consumer debt rose faster than expected in April, as many Americans apparently turned to credit cards to fund their everyday purchases.
In part two of the day's bad news for Americans' pocketbooks, the cost of crude oil soared, dashing hopes that fuel prices would subside and ease the strain they put on businesses and consumers. Oil futures jumped $10.75 in New York trading to an all-time high of $138.54 -- the biggest one-day gain on record.
The surge was blamed in part on an analyst's prediction that oil would hit the $150-a-barrel mark by July 4.
"Oil just took off like a rocket," said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Chicago-based Alaron Trading Corp.
The Dow tumbled 394.64 points, or 3.1%, to 12,209.81. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index, a benchmark for many index mutual funds held by individual investors, also sank 3.1%.
The sell-off exposed a deep vein of uncertainty running through the stock market. Investors, who had recently grown more sanguine about prospects for the economy, suddenly confronted the specter of extended job losses compounding the continuing effects of falling home values and soaring gasoline prices. Worries are growing that consumer spending will give way, denting corporate earnings and further pressuring stock prices.
Market analysts describe investors as confused, reacting wildly to each day's economic news. On Thursday, the Dow jumped 214 points after a strong retail-sales report raised hopes that the economy was turning a corner.
For consumers, rising unemployment and higher gasoline prices, combined with Thursday's news that the national home foreclosure rate had reached a record pace, formed a cruel trifecta.
