Authors: Jeanette Torres
Stockbyte/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- U.S. employers added 80,000 jobs last month, falling short of expectations, the Labor Department announced Friday morning.
Economists had expected to see around 90,000 positions added in June, higher than the 69,000 jobs added in May, but lower than what is needed for a full economic recovery from the last recession that began with the mortgage meltdown in 2008.
The unemployment rate, meanwhile, remained unchanged at 8.2 percent.
Before Friday's jobs report, there were two pieces of positive employment data this week.
Private payroll tracker ADP reported on Thursday that the U.S. added 176,000 private jobs in June -- more than expected -- following a revised 136,000 jobs added in May.
Also, the number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits dropped last week to the lowest level in six weeks, falling 14,000 to 374,000 seasonally adjusted.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
