Stocks Plummet on Jobs Data

Stocks tumbled at the open today after a worse-than-expected drop in June payroll figures, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow sunk 135 points, while the Nasdaq and S&P fell 1.8% and 1.6%, respectively. The economy shed 467,000 non-farm jobs in June; economists had predicted a loss of 350,000. “Jobs are usually a lagging indicator,” said one researcher. “But this time, they’re almost a leading indicator. This is a consumer led recession.” (More stock market stories.)