Bleak August Jobs Report Forecast

It's not looking good. The Labor Department will announce the newest monthly jobs report this morning, and expectations are low, with unemployment exptected to remain at 9.1 percent. Economists forecast a net gain of just 60,000 nonfarm payroll jobs, which is half of July's number. Goldman Sachs even forecasted a paltry gain of 25,000. By comparison, the market needs to add about 150,000 jobs each month just to keep up with working-age population growth. The White House acknowledged Thursday that unemployment will stay high through 2012. One factor in the weak forecast is the latest plunge in the consumer confidence index, which is at its lowest level since 2009.