US sees 125,000 jobs lost in June

There were about 125,000 US jobs lost in June, the Labor Department has said, the first time jobs were lost on a month-on-month basis since October.

The overall decline was driven by the departure of 225,000 temporary employees who had been working on the US census in May.
But the US unemployment rate fell to 9.5% in June from 9.7% in May.
The private sector created 83,000 jobs, data which investors will look to for signs of recovery.
That was an improvement on May but below March and April's totals.
The unemployment rate fell as 652,000 people gave up on their job searches. People no longer looking for work do not count in the unemployment data.
Retail impact The monthly jobs report is one of the most closely watched economic indicators in the US.
High unemployment remains one of the biggest obstacles to strong, sustained growth.
Analysts say that high unemployment has kept consumer confidence low, preventing retail sales from growing rapidly.
Given that consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of the US economy, there are concerns that until more people are in work, the economy will grow only modestly.