U.S. economy adds 80,000 jobs in June; unemployment rate holds at 8.2%

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. economy continued to struggle in June, adding 80,000 net new jobs while the unemployment rate remained at 8.2%, the government reported Friday.

The new figures were a marginal improvement over May’s dismal job-creation numbers, which were revised up to 77,000 from the initial report of 69,000. But June’s figures fell below economists’ projections of about 100,000 net new jobs.

The private sector created 84,000 jobs in June, but the total was brought down by continued cuts in government workforces, which lost 4,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department reported.

The manufacturing sector added 11,000 net new jobs in June, an improvement from the 9,000 it added in May. Another key sector, construction, rebounded strongly in June, adding 2,000 net new jobs after losing 35,000 jobs in May.

Job growth had picked up significantly last fall, with the U.S. economy adding an average of nearly 200,000 net new jobs from September through March. But rising gas prices and mounting financial problems in Europe caused job growth to slow dramatically this spring.

With Europe struggling through a deep debt crisis, government and private-sector economists have lowered their growth projections for the United States and the rest of the world.

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