Statement from Bart van Ark, Chief Economist of The Conference Board on Friday’s Jobs Report from The U.S. Labor Department:

The modest job gains during the past few months not only reflect the response to slow output growth, but also a lack of confidence going forward. While the snail-pace creation of jobs over the past months might seem similar to recent post-recession periods, it is in fact much different. The economy as a whole has been weakened by a dismal housing market and slow consumption growth, which especially hamper small and medium- sized enterprises. Modest gains in private sector jobs, coupled with the large decline in government employment, are consistent with our forecast for continued sluggish growth.