Labor

Against expectations of a 195k gain, ADP reported just 156k job growth in April with manufacturing losing jobs once again and services job growth clowing quickly to catch down to such negative indicators as ISM Services Employment. This is the worst headline print since April 2013. From last week's job-creation-machine firinmg on all cylinders, Mark Zandi is now more cautious - “The job market appears to have stumbled in April. Job growth noticeably slowed, with some weakness across most sectors.

Submitted by Devon Herrick via National Center for Policy Analysis,

Twenty workers from the The Hanford Site nuclear facility in Washington state were sent for medical evaluations after inhaling chemical vapors in the vicinity of a leaking nuclear waste tank. Some workers had reported smelling a suspicious odor or developing symptoms, such as headaches. Lat month, thousands of gallons of radioactive waste leaked at the site On Thursday work to empty waste from Tank AY-102, Hanford’s double-shell tank with an interior leak was stopped after the suspicious odors were reported.

As we covered previously, in an effort to remain solvent the Central States Pension Fund has submitted an application to the Treasury for approval to cut member benefits.  While some plan participants could see pension incomes cut in half, the fund projects that it will become insolvent by 2025 if nothing is done.

Treasury is set to decide on the matter by May 7th, and as it turns out, the decision impacts more than just current plan participants...

Submitted by Wall Street Examiner's Lee Adler via Contra Corner blog,

Comparing the growth in the number of full time jobs versus the growth in new home sales starkly illustrates both the horrible quality of the new jobs, and how badly ZIRP has served the US economy.