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WASHINGTON: US employers shed 467,000 jobs in June, pushing the unemployment rate to a fresh 26-year high of 9.5 percent, the Labour Department reported on Thursday.
Analysts had expected a smaller number of 365,000 job losses, but a higher unemployment rate of 9.6 percent. The jobless rate in May was 9.4 percent.
The agency revised its estimates for May to show fewer job cuts - 322,000 instead of 345,000. But the April figure was revised from a loss of 504,000 to 519,000 jobs.
The report, one of the best indicators of economic momentum, appeared to dash hopes for a quick turnaround in the labour market, after a moderation in job losses in May.
"The disappointing report highlights the severity of the downturn and suggests a bottom for employment is not near," said Sophia Koropeckyj at Moody's Economy.com.
Meny Grauman, economist at CIBC World Markets, said some analysts "have gotten ahead of themselves in anticipating an economic recovery."
"This shows the recession lives on in the United States," he added.
"It's a question of the pace of decline and not recovery. The economy continues to contract at a slower pace than at the beginning of this year but it's still a steep ride."
Since the recession began in December 2007, the world's biggest economy has lost 6.5 million jobs and the jobless rate has risen 4.6 percentage points.
Employment in manufacturing fell by 136,000 over the past month, boosting the total for the recession to 1.9 million job losses.
The key services sector lost 244,000 jobs including 21,000 in retail last month, the report showed.
All sectors showed job losses except education and health care, which gained 34,000 in June.
In a separate report on weekly jobless claims which provides one of the freshest indicators of economic sentiment, the Labour Department said the number of new claims fell by 16,000 to 614,000 in the week ending June 27.
The four-week moving average for new claims was 615,250, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week's revised figure.
The update showed a decrease in the number of people receiving unemployment benefits by 53,000 to 6,702,000 in the week to June 20.
President Barack Obama warned last month ago that "it's pretty clear now that unemployment will end up going over 10 percent" and said it would take time for an economic recovery to translate into job growth.
The US economy shrank at a 5.5 percent pace in the first quarter, based on the latest official estimate, following a 6.3 percent slide in the fourth quarter of 2008 - representing the worst slump in decades, resulting from the collapse of a housing bubble and global credit squeeze. - AFP/de
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