Labor Dept.: Jobs cut for sixth straight month

Industrial Distribution staff -- Industrial Distribution, 7/3/2008 9:01:00 AM

Employers cut payrolls by 62,000 in June, the Associated Press reported, making it the sixth consecutive that jobs were lost.

The unemployment rate held steady at 5.5 percent, according to statistics released by the United States Labor Department.

The heaviest job losses were in construction, manufacturing and financial services.

The jobless rate of 5.5 percent is the highest since October 2004. So far this year, the economy has lost a total of 438,000 jobs, an average of 73,000 a month.

Private analysts predict the job loss trend will continue

"The economy is at risk of a hard landing," Brian Bethune, economist at Global Insight, told the AP.

The number of unemployed in June was 8.5 million, up from 7 million a year ago.