U.S. employers added only 80,000 jobs in June, a third straight month of weak hiring that shows the economy is still struggling three years after the recession ended.
The unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.2 percent, the Labor Department said Friday.
The economy added an average of just 75,000 jobs a month in the April-June quarter — one-third of the pace in the first quarter.
For the first six months of 2012, employers added an average of 150,000 jobs a month. That's fewer than the 161,000 average for the first half of 2011.
Weaker job creation has caused consumers to pull back on spending.
Europe's debt crisis is also weighing on U.S. exports. And the scheduled expiration of tax cuts at year's end has increased uncertainty for U.S. companies, making many hesitant to hire.
Job creation is the fuel for the nation's economic growth. When more people have jobs, more consumers have money to spend — and consumer spending drives about 70 of the economy.
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Here's what The Associated Press' reporters are finding:
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STATES OF (RELATIVE) DISTRESS
Only 14 states have unemployment rates above the national average. But most of them have large populations. Thirty-four states — more than two-thirds — have rates that are below the national average of 8.2 percent. Two states — Arizona and Kentucky — are at the national average.
AP
FILE-In this June 13, 2012 file photo, job... View Full Caption
FILE-In this June 13, 2012 file photo, job seekers have their resumes reviewed at a job fair expo in Anaheim, Calif. U.S. employers added only 80,000 jobs in June, a third straight month of weak hiring that shows the economy is still struggling three years after the recession ended. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.2 percent, the Labor Department said in its report Friday, July 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) Close
Unemployment is highest in Nevada (11.6 percent), where the effects of the housing bust are pervasive. The four states with the next highest rates are: Rhode Island (11 percent), California (10.8 percent), North Carolina (9.4 percent) and New Jersey (9.2 percent).
Unemployment is lowest in North Dakota (3 percent). It's an agricultural state that avoided the housing boom and bust and has benefited from an oil-drilling boom. The four states with the next lowest rates are Nebraska (3.9 percent), South Dakota (4.3 percent), Vermont (4.6 percent) and Oklahoma (4.8 percent).
The Labor Department's state-by-state unemployment data is for May.
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'WORLDLY AND BROKE'
When Deborah Masse, 49, lost a job in 2007, she had three interviews and a job offer within six weeks.
This time has been different. After being laid off in October 2011, she's sent out thousands of resumes and had several phone interviews.
No job offers.
But Masse, who lives in Stanton, Mich., with her husband and mother, has been encouraged by the auto industry's rebound. She's seeing auto companies advertise jobs in human resources, her field. She plans to move next week to be closer to Detroit.
While unemployed, Masse says she's exercised more, learned some French and Spanish, and brushed up on her technological skills.
"If nothing else, I will end up on Social Security more fit, more intelligent and worldly and broke," she says.
— Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Economics Writer
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THE ANNUAL SLUMP
The June jobs report confirmed evidence of an unhappy long-term trend: Hiring is slumping for a third straight year.
In each of the past three years, hopes for a job-market recovery were lifted by robust gains early in the year. But in each case, those hopes fizzled as hiring slowed by spring or summer.
The unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.2 percent, the Labor Department said Friday.
The economy added an average of just 75,000 jobs a month in the April-June quarter — one-third of the pace in the first quarter.
For the first six months of 2012, employers added an average of 150,000 jobs a month. That's fewer than the 161,000 average for the first half of 2011.
Weaker job creation has caused consumers to pull back on spending.
Europe's debt crisis is also weighing on U.S. exports. And the scheduled expiration of tax cuts at year's end has increased uncertainty for U.S. companies, making many hesitant to hire.
Job creation is the fuel for the nation's economic growth. When more people have jobs, more consumers have money to spend — and consumer spending drives about 70 of the economy.
———
Here's what The Associated Press' reporters are finding:
———
STATES OF (RELATIVE) DISTRESS
Only 14 states have unemployment rates above the national average. But most of them have large populations. Thirty-four states — more than two-thirds — have rates that are below the national average of 8.2 percent. Two states — Arizona and Kentucky — are at the national average.
AP
FILE-In this June 13, 2012 file photo, job... View Full Caption
FILE-In this June 13, 2012 file photo, job seekers have their resumes reviewed at a job fair expo in Anaheim, Calif. U.S. employers added only 80,000 jobs in June, a third straight month of weak hiring that shows the economy is still struggling three years after the recession ended. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.2 percent, the Labor Department said in its report Friday, July 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) Close
Unemployment is highest in Nevada (11.6 percent), where the effects of the housing bust are pervasive. The four states with the next highest rates are: Rhode Island (11 percent), California (10.8 percent), North Carolina (9.4 percent) and New Jersey (9.2 percent).
Unemployment is lowest in North Dakota (3 percent). It's an agricultural state that avoided the housing boom and bust and has benefited from an oil-drilling boom. The four states with the next lowest rates are Nebraska (3.9 percent), South Dakota (4.3 percent), Vermont (4.6 percent) and Oklahoma (4.8 percent).
The Labor Department's state-by-state unemployment data is for May.
———
'WORLDLY AND BROKE'
When Deborah Masse, 49, lost a job in 2007, she had three interviews and a job offer within six weeks.
This time has been different. After being laid off in October 2011, she's sent out thousands of resumes and had several phone interviews.
No job offers.
But Masse, who lives in Stanton, Mich., with her husband and mother, has been encouraged by the auto industry's rebound. She's seeing auto companies advertise jobs in human resources, her field. She plans to move next week to be closer to Detroit.
While unemployed, Masse says she's exercised more, learned some French and Spanish, and brushed up on her technological skills.
"If nothing else, I will end up on Social Security more fit, more intelligent and worldly and broke," she says.
— Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Economics Writer
———
THE ANNUAL SLUMP
The June jobs report confirmed evidence of an unhappy long-term trend: Hiring is slumping for a third straight year.
In each of the past three years, hopes for a job-market recovery were lifted by robust gains early in the year. But in each case, those hopes fizzled as hiring slowed by spring or summer.