Washington, July 3--The unemployment rate climbed to 6.4 percent last month from May's 6.1 percent, according to the Labor Department. It was a much worse reading than the 6.2 percent forecast by economists.
The rate reached the highest level since a matching 6.4 percent in April 1994.
The Labor Department reported that the economy lost 30,000 jobs in May. Rather than falling, economists had expected payrolls to remain unchanged during the month. In a revision that underscored the weakness in the job market, the department said payrolls fell 70,000 in May instead of the originally reported 17,000 drop.
Among the sectors that contributed to the jobs decline were manufacturing, which fell 56,000, and information industries, which shed 10,000 jobs.
Across the economy, the length of the average workweek was unchanged at 33.7 hours. Factory hours were also steady at 40.2 hours, while overtime remained at 4 hours. Lack of growth in the workweek is a less-than-encouraging sign for the future. When companies are poised to begin hiring, they often increase the hours of the workers currently on their staff first.
