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Stocks Dive After Dismal Report On June Jobs

NEW YORK (CBS/AP) — Stocks are opening sharply lower after the government said businesses added the fewest jobs in June in more than a year. The unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent.

Employers created only 18,000 jobs last month, a fraction of what economists expected. Hiring in April and May was weaker than earlier estimates.

Jill Schlessinger of MoneyWatch.com told KNX 1070 that despite the optimistic expectations by many analysts, employers are still very reluctant to boost their payrolls.

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"This one, there is no silver lining," said Schlessinger, who noted that 500,000 government jobs have been eliminated since Sept. 2008.

Traders rushed to the relative safety of government bonds. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.04 percent from 3.19 percent just before the Labor Department's report came out.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones industrial average is down 87 points, or 0.7 percent, at 12,633. The S&P 500 index is down 10, or 0.7 percent at 1,344. The Nasdaq composite index is down 29, or 1 percent, at 2,844.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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