For the sixth month in a row, employers in the U.S. continue to cut employees, jobs.
Losses this year near the half-million mark.
The Labor Department reported today that 62,000 jobs were lost in June -- equaling the job loss
figure for May, which was revised higher from the original estimate of 49,000.
June's job losses, along with the revised figures, results in a startling 438,000 jobs lost in
the economy so far this year. The unemployment rate held steady at 5.5 percent.
Job losses were found in manufacturing, which lost 33,000 jobs; construction, which lost 43,000 jobs;
business and professional services, which cut 51,000 jobs; and retailing, which cut 7,500 jobs.
On the positive side, job gains were seen in several sectors, including: government employers,
which added 29,000 jobs; education and health services, which also added 29,000 jobs; and
leisure and hospitality, which added 24,000 jobs.
In related employment news, the four-week moving average for initial unemployment claims neared the 400,000 benchmark
for an economy in a full recession, hitting 390,500 -- the highest level since 2005, shortly after Hurricane Katrina.
