Jobs, May | featured news

There was little turnover in the U.S. labor market in May, and the number of available jobs at the end of the month was virtually unchanged from April, government data showed on Tuesday.

The nation's job market took a turn for the worse last month as employers sharply pulled back their hiring and the unemployment rate edged up to 9.1%, the Labor Department said Friday.

Private-sector payroll growth slowed sharply in May, coming in far below expectations and falling to the lowest level in eight months, a report showed Wednesday.

Consumer confidence sank in July to its lowest since February on job market worries, underscoring the slow path to economic recovery, and home prices rose in May but without signs of a sustained rebound, reports released on Tuesday showed.

Employers added 431,000 nonfarm jobs, the biggest monthly increase in a decade, but most of the reported growth was in government jobs.

The number of newly laid-off Americans filing jobless claims fell more than expected last week and retail sales grew in May for the first time in three months, fresh evidence that the worst of the recession may have past.

The U.S. unemployment rate was the highest in 26 years, the government said on Friday, but the loss of 345,000 jobs in May, fewer than expected, was seen as a sign that the job market was no longer in free fall.