Employment Report

The employment report shows more of the same and no sign of an economic improvement.

Compared to other economic cycles this is looking like an extended shallow near recession.

But that may be the most bearish scenario.

Every time employment has fallen below its year ago level the US has experienced a recession and both employment measures are below their year ago level. Neither measure is showing any sign of bottoming.
Hours worked tell the same story. The monthly drops have been running at about a 1% rate and this months data is in line with that trend.
Interestingly, the Republican convention clearly read the mood of the country and they decided to campaign against the Republican party.