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(Reuters) - Private employers stepped up hiring in June and the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits last week fell by the most in two months, hopeful signs for the struggling labor market. But dark clouds continue to gather over the U.S. economy, with the vast services sector crawling forward at its slowest pace in nearly 2-1/2 years in June and retailers reporting sales below expectations, other data showed on Thursday. The economy has been hit by turbulence from Europe's debt crisis and fears of tax increases at home next year, undermining confidence among businesses and ordinary...

More workers joined the federal government's disability program in June than got new jobs, according to two new government reports, a clear indicator of how bleak the nation's jobs picture is after three full years of economic recovery.

The jobs report for June shows another gloomy month in the US economy. Job growth amounted to a disappointing 80,000, below analyst expectations of 90-100K, while the jobless rate remained the same at 8.2%:

8.2%

LONDON — World oil prices nosedived on Friday, hitting three-month lows as a disappointing US non-farm payrolls report sparked fresh concern over energy demand in the world's biggest crude consuming nation. (snip) In later afternoon deals on Friday, Brent oil stood at $112.27, down $3.81 from Thursday's closing level, while WTI traded at $98.25, down a hefty $4.29.

There are times when one questions a report as possibly being wrong or in error, and then there are times when one has to raise a flag and say "This is an intentionally false picture being presented by a government agency."I'm in the latter camp with this one, and it is rare for me to brand something as not possibly wrong and in error, but intentionally fraudulent. Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 243,000 in January, and the unemployment rate decreased to 8.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job growth was widespread in the private sector,...

Saying the economy is “growing stronger,” President Obama issued a strong warning to Congress on Friday: “Do not slow down the recovery ... don't muck it up!" Speaking at a fire house in Arlington, Va. — hours after a jobs report showed the unemployment rate dropped from 8.5 to 8.3 percent — a fiery Obama said Washington has to do everything in its power to help the economy. He urged Congress to pass a payroll tax cut extension without drama and delay. “They just need to get it done, [it] shouldn’t be that complicated,” Obama said.

Awful. That’s the best one can say about the November employment report. The headline — that unemployment jumped to 9.8 percent — is not really the bad news. If and when the economy does catch fire, droves of discouraged workers will flood back into the labor market and the rate will easily exceed 10 percent. So a rising unemployment rate is not really the main concern. No, the main concern is that there were only 50,000 private-sector jobs created, not nearly enough to make a dent in the employment woes. And that was the bright spot. For blue-collar workers —...

NEW YORK – The stock market is ending a painful second quarter quietly, trading in a narrow range after another disappointing report on the jobs market. Payroll company ADP says private employers added 13,000 jobs in June, well short of the 60,000 economists forecast. Moves are modest Wednesday as financial stocks inch higher in response to a change in the banking overhaul bill that removes $19 billion in proposed taxes on banks. A slightly better-than-expected report on manufacturing in the Midwest is also giving stocks some support.

NEW YORK – Investors went back to selling stocks sharply lower Friday after the Labor Department's disappointing news that hiring remains weak. Interest rates fell sharply as investors moved their money into the safety of Treasury bonds and notes. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped almost 190 points, while all the major indexes were down more than 1 percent. The government's May jobs report was an unpleasant surprise for the market. The Labor Department said private employers hired just 41,000 jobs in May, down dramatically from 218,000 in April and the lowest number since January. The news made it clear...

HYATTSVILLE, Md. (AP) - President Barack Obama says the addition of 431,000 new jobs in May shows "the economy is getting stronger by the day."

Thank goodness for Harry Reid. No, I mean it. Without Harry I would have thought Friday's unexpected (yet again!) jobs report was bad news. I was trained in the old fashioned school of economics where full employment is a good thing and high levels of unemployment is not so good. So, I was more than pleased to hear Harry Reid tell the nation, “Today is a big day in America. Only 36,000 people lost their jobs today, which is really good.” Really good. What a relief. I must remember to tell my unemployed friends what a great day Friday was...

Out of all the economic reports, the monthly Jobs Report seems to get the most attention. This report comes out at 8:30AM EST on the first Friday of each month. Here are the main reasons why I ignore this report: 1) CNBC calls this report the "Grand Daddy of them all." This is an obvious and pathetic attempt to boost their TV ratings and put fear into the novice investor. 2) I prefer to "turn off the noise" and pay attention to the price action of leading stocks and the volume of major indexes. 3) The following seems to happen...

If I didn't know better, the new this weekend would have made me believe that the recession was over...people were headed back to work and once again spending money. Unfortunately, behind report after report about the "STRONG JOBS DATA" (AP Headline) there are numbers that show that the economy is every bit as fragile as it has been throughout this year. After all, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to question why the unemployment rate went down when the economy lost nearly 250,000 jobs. So, consider these unfortunate realities...

U.S. employers hired workers at a middling pace in November, according to a report that did little to ease fears among some analysts that economic growth is close to stalling. The Labor Department reported that employment at nonfarm businesses rose by 94,000 jobs in November. That followed revised increases of 170,000 in October and 44,000 in September; those gains were initially estimated at 166,000 and 96,000, respectively. The unemployment rate stayed at 4.7% for the third-consecutive month. Service industries such as health care, leisure and hospitality picked up jobs. But businesses related to the housing bust -- including construction, mortgage...

In July 207,000 jobs were created, above expectations, and the unemployment rate held steady at 5.0% Upward revisions for May and June as well.

jobs were created in August. The unemployment rate edgged down at 5.4% Upward revisions Details to come...

32,000 jobs were created in July. The unemployment rate down at 5.5% Details to come... ouch

288,000 jobs were created in April. The unemployment rate down at 5.6% Details to come...

It probably doesn't bode well for a purportedly enjoyable radio show when its most entertaining segment is one featuring Al Gore. But that was the case on the maiden voyage of "The O'Franken Factor," the much ballyhooed liberal talk radio show, hosted by Al Franken, which, along with the much ballyhooed liberal talk radio network Air America, debuted on Wednesday. About two-and-a-half hours into the three-hour show Franken was talking with his in-studio guest Michael Moore when the former vice president called in to congratulate Franken on his new radio career. Franken, seizing the opportunity of having Moore and Gore...