In The News

Employers create fewest jobs in a year; trucking gains 7,300 jobs

WASHINGTON — U.S. employers created 69,000 jobs in May, the fewest in a year, and the unemployment rate ticked up. The dismal jobs figures could fan fears that the economy is sputtering.

The Labor Department also says the economy created far fewer jobs in the previous two months than first thought. It revised those figures down to show 49,000 fewer jobs created. The unemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent from 8.1 percent in April, the first increase in 11 months.

For-hire trucking picked up 7,300 jobs for the month, and has added jobs every month this year except for March. The preliminary May number for trucking is better than the same month a year ago by 44,600 jobs, and it's 108,800 jobs better than March 2010, the low point in the downturn. But the current total is still 111,300 jobs shy of the industry peak in early 2007, a slip of 7.7 percent.

Dow Jones industrial average futures, which were already down 100 points before the report, fell an additional 100 points within minutes of its release.

The yield on the benchmark on the 10-year Treasury note plunged to 1.46 percent, the lowest on record, suggesting investors are flocking to the safety of U.S. government bonds

The economy is averaging just 73,000 jobs per month over the past two months — roughly a third of jobs created per month in the first quarter.

Weak job growth could damage President Barack Obama's reelection prospects. Mitt Romney, the Republican challenger, has made the economy the central theme of his campaign.

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