(Newser)
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Experts had estimated 100,000 new jobs last month, but the June jobs report shows just 80,000 added, the Wall Street Journal reports. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.2%—and neither number is good news for President Obama. Even 100,000 new jobs would have been "mediocre," writes Paul Vigna, thus creating more fuel for Mitt Romney's message that the recovery is too slow. And as for the unemployment rate, no president since World War II has been reelected with joblessness above 7.4%, Politico notes.
June's numbers just barely beat May's gain of 69,000 jobs. It's been "four straight months of weak job creation," Vigna continues. "Not a good sign." Plus, the Journal notes, the true number of people out of work is higher than the unemployment rate implies, because some people have simply stopped looking for work and thus are not included when calculating the rate.
