US non-farm payrolls fell by 467,000 in June, according to a worse-than-expected report released on Thursday by the US Labor Department.
Economists in a Reuters survey had forecast that 363,000 jobs would be lost in the month.
Revisions added 8,000 to payroll figures previously reported in May and April.
The report also showed the jobless rate jumped to 9.5 per cent, the highest since August 1983, compared with 9.4 per cent in May. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to rise to 9.6 per cent, which would have been the highest since June 1983.
But for green shoots enthusiasts and devotees of the second derivative, the drop in payrolls will nonetheless reassure, since it reflects a decline in the pace of job losses: the economy shed an average of 691,000 jobs a month during the first three months of the year. Monthly job losses, as measured by the Labor Department, peaked at 741,000 in January. Employers have cut 6.5m jobs since the recession officially began in December 2007.
Less reassuring is the steady and continued decline in the average number of hours worked, suggesting employers are also cutting their payroll burden by reducing the number of hours available to workers. The average work week fell to 33 hours, the lowest level since records began in 1964, from 33.1 hours in May.
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US private sector shed 473,000 jobs in June, ADP says – FT Alphaville