"Employment has begun to show signs of improvement," Scott Davis, chief executive officer of United Parcel Service Inc., said during an April 26 call with analysts. "In the U.S., unemployment dipped below 9% for the first time in almost two years, further evidence that the recovery continues."
While payrolls have grown each month since October, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said on April 27 that central bankers would like to see more strength in the U.S. labor market, noting that a recovery has been "quite slow."
"The labor market is improving gradually," Bernanke said to reporters during the first-ever press conference following a Federal Open Market Committee meeting. "We would like to make sure that that is sustainable. The longer it goes on, the more confident we are."
Another report yesterday showed employment at U.S. companies increased 179,000 in April, the smallest gain in five months, according to ADP Employer Services.
Stimulus Necessary
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren yesterday said record stimulus is necessary to spur the "anemic" economy and that raising interest rates to combat increasing food and fuel prices would impede growth.
"With significant slack in labor markets, stable inflation expectations, and core inflation well below our longer run target, there is currently no reason to slow the economy down with tighter monetary policy," Rosengren said during a speech in Boston.
Cisco Systems Inc., the largest maker of computer- networking equipment, is among companies trying to cut costs. The San Jose, Calif.-based company last week said it is offering early-retirement packages to some employees in the U.S. and Canada. The company didn't specify how many workers it expected to take the packages or how much would be saved.