Ball State economist: U.S. is sliding into recession

MUNCIE, Ind. (WANE) - Ball State economist, Michael Hicks, believes the jobs report indicates that America is sliding into a recession.

Hicks said the number of people added to payrolls could be less than what it actually is, despite the recent positive economic reports.

Hicks said Friday's jobs report from the U.S. Labor Department is "lackluster at best."

ADP, a paycheck processing firm, said Thursday that private companies added 201,000 jobs in August, which is up from the 173,000 jobs added in July.

However, many economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect the number was much closer to 143,000 jobs. The economy generally needs to add around 150,000 jobs per month just to keep up with the growing population.

“Manufacturing job losses, and a string of bad manufacturing and retail sales figures suggest we continue to slide into recession. The full weight of Europe’s problems are ahead, not behind us, and so the coming months will see stagnant or declining job creation," Hicks said.