Why a US slowdown should worry you

THE latest US employment report was a major disappointment: only 38,000 jobs were added in May, a big step down from the more than 200,000-a-month average since January 2013.

Special factors, notably the Verizon strike, partly explain the bad news. But, in any case, job growth is a noisy series, so you shouldn't make too much of one month's data. Still, all the evidence points to slowing growth. It's not a recession - at least, not yet - but it is definitely a pause in the economy's progress.

Should this pause worry you? Yes. Because if it does turn into a recession, or even if it goes on for a long time, it's very hard to envision an effective policy response.