U.S. Economy
Thursday, Jul 3, 2008 12:58 PM UTC
Oil up, jobs down
Same old song and dance: A new record for the price of oil, and more bad employment numbers for the U.S. economy
If anyone still listened to vinyl any more, we’d call this a broken record.
- For the sixth straight month, U.S. payrolls declined. The Labor Department reported that nonfarm employment in June dropped by 62,000. Significant losses in construction (43,000) and manufacturing (33,000) were only partially offset by an 8000 job gain in the mining sector, and a 15,000 job boost in the ever-popular health care sector.
- Crude oil futures set another record, breaking $145 a barrel.
Maybe it’s a good thing the New York Stock Exchange is closing three hours early today, as part of an extended July 4th weekend. The less time to mull these figures, the better.
Andrew Leonard is a staff writer at Salon. On Twitter, @koxinga21. More Andrew Leonard.
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