US Creates 69,000 New Jobs, Unemployment Rate 8.2%

The American jobs engine hit stall speed in May, with the economy adding just 69,000 new jobs while the unemployment rate climbed to 8.2 percent.

As another summertime swoon looms, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that job creation missed economist estimates for 158,000 new positions, and said labor force participation remains near 30-year lows though incrementally better than last month.

In May, stocks suffered through their worst month in two years, and the job-creation figures only added to the gloom.

Stock market futures indicated a sharply lower open for Wall Street, while investors continued to pour into bonds, sending the 10-year Treasury note yield tumbling to near 1.50 percent.

The bulk of the gains came from the service sector, which added 84,000 jobs, while manufacturing grew 12,000.

Construction took the biggest hit, dropping by 28,000 for the month.

"It's painfully obvious the economic recovery in the U.S. isn't just slowing down, it's pulling up the emergency brake. And, lack of job creation isn't the only critical concern. Wages/Income is sharply lower," said Todd Schoenberger, managing principal The BlackBay Group in New York.

"For those lucky enough to have a job, their spending power is sliding when accounting for inflation. The markets will respond negatively to this report," he added.

The report comes a month after the government reported that just 115,000 new jobs were added in April, a number that helped contribute to a general malaise about economic growth.

Even that number was worse than thought: The BLS revised the April number down to 77,000.

With worries swelling over the state of the global economy, another weak employment report in the U.S. adds to fears that a sharp slowdown is on the way.