Only 80,000 jobs added in U.S. in June

U.S. employers added only 80,000 jobs in June, a third straight month of weak hiring that shows the economy is still struggling three years after the recession ended.

The unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.2 percent, the Labor Department said in its report Friday.

The economy added an average of just 75,000 jobs a month in the April-June quarter. That's one-third of the 226,000 a month created in the first quarter.

For the first six months of the year, U.S. employers added an average of 150,000 jobs a month. That's fewer than the 161,000 a month in the first half of 2011. And it shows that the job market is weakening.

"It's a disappointing report," said George Mokrzan, director of economics at Huntington National Bank in Columbus, Ohio. He said the job gains are consistent with sluggish economic growth.

The stock market opened sharply lower. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 146 points in the first hour of trading, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 15 points, or 1.1 percent.

A weak job market has made consumers less confident. They have pulled back on spending, even though gas prices have plunged since early spring.

Europe's debt crisis is weighing on U.S. exports, which has slowed growth at U.S. factories. And the scheduled expiration of several big tax cuts at the end of this year has increased uncertainty for many U.S. companies, making many hesitant to hire.

"Most firms can achieve their output target with their existing labor force, so they are just not hiring," said John Silvia, chief economist at Wells Fargo.

Silvia said the June job growth is consistent with annual economic growth below 2 percent. Such growth is too weak to lower the unemployment rate.

There were some positive signs in the report. The average workweek grew to 34.5 hours from 34.4 in May, boosting many workers' paychecks. And average hourly pay rose 6 cents to $23.50. Hourly pay has increased 2 percent in the past year and is ahead of inflation.

About one-third of the jobs gained in June were in temporary services.

Manufacturing added 11,000 jobs, its ninth straight month of gains. But growth in factory jobs slowed sharply in the second quarter compared with the first. Health care added 13,000 jobs, and financial services gained 5,000.

Retailers, transportation firms and government cut jobs.