12% true unemployment. 29,000 Government. Manufacturers added 24,000 jobs. Retailers hired a net total of 26,000 employees. Employment in health care grew 31,000. Hotels and restaurants added 17,000.

Service companies are growing at the weakest pace in a year and a half. Consumers cut spending in June for the first time in 20 months, and they saved more.
High gas prices and scant wage increases have squeezed U.S. consumers this year. And consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity.

Media: Lowest Labor Force Participation Rate since 1984 Equals some “good news”

CNN called the report “a welcome piece of good news,” claiming that it “sharply contrasted other recent readings pointing toward an economic slowdown.” However, as CNN noted, “The Labor Department said the improvement was mostly due to people leaving the labor force.” The labor force participation rate fell to a 25-year low.