U.S. unemployment rate rises to 9.2 per cent in June

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Hiring slowed to a near-standstill last month. Employers added the fewest jobs in nine months and the unemployment rate rose to 9.2 per cent.

The Labor Department said the economy generated only 18,000 net jobs in June. And the number of jobs added in May was revised down to 25,000.

High gas prices and supply-chain disruptions stemming from the Japan crisis and the weak housing market have slowed the economy. Average hourly wages declined last month. After-tax incomes, adjusted for inflation, have been flat this year.

Businesses added the fewest jobs in more than a year. Governments cut 39,000 jobs.

Hiring has slowed sharply in the past two months. The economy added an average of 215,000 jobs per month in the previous three months.

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