The U.S. Labor department reported today that while the private sector gained 83,000 jobs in June, employment overall lost 125,000 jobs. So while unemployment has dropped to 9.5%, the Labor Department’s report did not give economists and investors the news they had hoped to hear because it doesn’t show the kind of job creation development in the private sector that indicates economic recovery is on its way. As a result, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 46.05 points to close at 9,686.48 on Friday. This is the lowest the Dow has been since October of 2009.
European and Asian markets were mixed on Friday with the Dax and Hang Seng as the only down markets. While some of the positivity may be the result of the European Union cutting budgets, some of the negativity may be from the same reason. Some economists fear that early budget cuts could actually hurt Europe’s economy as it takes money out of the hands of businesses and consumers.
No U.S. market was able to pull out of the losing spiral today; the Nasdaq closed down 9.57 points at 2,091.79 and the S&P 500 closed at 1,022.58 down 4.79 points.
