Fred Business News - Employers trimmed jobs from their payrolls in June for the sixth straight month, as the government's closely watched report Thursday showed continued weakness in the labor market.
The Labor Department reported a net loss of 62,000 jobs in the month. That matched the job loss figure for May, which was revised higher from 49,000. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast a loss of 60,000 jobs.
The June number brought to 438,000 the number of jobs lost by the
The unemployment rate stayed at 5.5%. Economists had forecast the rate would come in at 5.4% in the latest reading.
In a separate report, the department said initial claims for unemployment insurance rose 16,000 to 404,000 in the latest week. Economist Robert Brusca of FAO Economics said the reading over 400,000 is a "classic recession signal."
And the even more closely watched four-week moving average for initial claims neared that worrisome 400,000 benchmark, reaching 390,500 - the highest level since the four weeks after 2005's Hurricane Katrina.
The four-week average hasn't been at or above the 400,000 mark since 2003.
The job losses in the monthly report were concentrated in manufacturing and construction, two sectors that have been badly battered in the current economic downturn.
Manufacturing lost 33,000 jobs, even as the troubled auto and auto parts makers posted a modest gain. Construction lost 43,000, with about half of that coming from contractors and subcontractors in the home building segment of the market.
Source: Cnn.com
About Fred: Fred is president of The I Team Organization. With a back ground in agriculture Fred has lead many successful business ventures.
