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Labor Department Reports Job Growth Slowed in June
WASHINGTON -- Unemployment remained steady at 5.6%, but the pace of job growth slowed from previous months, the U.S. Labor Department reported today.The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that payroll employment increased by 112,000 jobs in June to 139 million jobs. But job growth was down sharply from the pace set in May, when the labor department reported 248,000 nonfarm jobs were created. The Associated Press reported this morning that stocks fell slightly following the report. Economists had expected more than double the number of new jobs reported for June. Job gains were reported in health care and social assistance, professional and technical services, and transportation and warehousing. However, manufacturing employment -- a key economic indicator -- edged lower following several months of small increases, falling by 11,000 jobs, and construction employment was flat. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao noted that the 112,000 jobs created in June represented the 10th consecutive month of jobs growth, with 1.5 million Americans finding new jobs since August 2003. In a written statement, she advocated passage of President Bush's energy plan and lawsuit reform "to keep the economic recovery going strong."Commerce Secretary Donald Evans said the June numbers show "more Americans are working," which means the Bush Administration's "economic plan is working...With more than a million new jobs in the last four months, these numbers show that the trend is our friend," he said.John Kerry, the Democratic Party's presumptive presidential nominee, today began a three-day bus trip through rural areas in the Midwest to explain how his jobs plan would benefit small towns. While Kerry's campaign continues to criticize the Bush Administration's economic policies, its message has been fine-tuned, analysts say, to recognize the last few months has brought some growth in jobs."This administration says this is the best economy of our lifetime," Kerry said. "They say this is the best we can do.They've even called us pessimists. Well, I say, the most pessimistic thing you can say is that America can't do better. Don't tell us losing 1,300 dairy farms in Minnesota is the best we can do. "U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-17 Ohio, issued a statement late Friday pointing out that the Labor Department report shows the loss of 11,000 manufacturing jobs in June, which shows "the continued weakness in the U.S. economy," he said."The economy touted by the president and the economy felt by working people are still very different," he said. "