Wall Street Falls After Weak Jobs Report

Washington. Major US stock indices were off Friday after the government’s monthly employment report showed anemic job growth in June.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said that payrolls rose 80,000 last month. The report followed the May increase of 77,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate remained at 8.2 percent.

The slow payroll growth, which is roughly half the monthly rate needed to put a dent in the jobless rate, was seen as a symptom of a slowing US economy.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 124.2 points, or 0.96 per cent, to 12,772.47. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 12.9 points, or 0.94 per cent, to 1,354.68. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 38.79 points, 1.3 per cent, to 2,937.33.

Friday’s downturn pushed the S&P 500 into the red for the week, with a five-day loss of 0.6 per cent.

The US currency gained against the euro to 81.39 euro cents from 80.7 euro cents on Thursday. The dollar slipped against the Japanese currency to 79.66 yen from 79.92 yen.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur