On Friday the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the nation's payroll only expanded by 78,000 in the month of May. This was 100,000 jobs below the expectations of jobs forecasters. This downward trend in May was coupled with other weak economic indicators including continued slow wage growth, losses in manufacturing, and ongoing high levels of long-term unemployment. Despite this low-level of job-growth, unemployment did dip down slightly, from 5.2 percent to 5.1 percent. Since May 2003, job growth has averaged 147,000 jobs per month. This level, according to the Economic Policy Institute, is enough to sustain the economic recovery, but the overall pattern of job creation over the past two years "suggests that a convincingly strong labor market recovery has yet to take hold." The Center for American Progress notes in this report that no American President since the Great Depression has, until now, sustained a net loss in private-sector jobs 52 months into their presidency. For more information on the BLS data, click here.