Unemployment Now 9.2% as Hiring Nears Standstill

The June jobs report is out, and it isn't pretty. Hiring slowed to a near-standstill last month: Employers added the fewest jobs in nine months and the unemployment rate rose to 9.2%. The Labor Department says the economy generated only 18,000 net jobs in June, and the number of jobs added in May was revised down to 25,000. Compare that to the previous three months, in which the economy added an average of 215,000 jobs per month.

High gas prices and supply-chain disruptions stemming from the Japan crisis and the weak housing market have battered the economy. Average hourly wages declined last month, and after-tax incomes, adjusted for inflation, have been flat this year. Today's report comes after more encouraging reports yesterday estimated the unemployment rate would hold at 9.1% (More unemployment stories.)