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You see and hear the subject of unemployment everywhere in any TV news report and the internet. The unemployment number in June released by the Labor Department today hammered the stock market heavily. The unemployment number rose from 322,000 in May to 467,000 in June. According to an updated U.S. Economic Statistics-Monthly Data published by U.S. Department of the Treasury, the unemployment rate climbed from 9.4% to 9.5%, the highest rate since August 1983.

In June, the majority of job cuts occurred in the sectors of manufacturing, construction, and professional services. Health services and education were hiring while other sectors were cutting jobs. Below is a breakdown of the number of job losses and growths in every sector.

Private Sector = - 415,000
o Natural Resources & Mining = - 8,000
o Construction = - 79,000
o Manufacturing = - 136,000
§ Durable goods = - 112,000
§ Non-durable goods = - 24,000
o Services = - 244,000
§ Wholesale Trade = - 15,900
§ Retail Trade = - 21,000
§ Transportation = - 13,900
§ Utilities = - 200
§ Information & Media = - 21,000
§ Financial Svcs & Real Estate = - 27,000
§ Professional & Business Svcs = - 118,000
§ Education = + 14,900
§ Health Svcs = + 18,600
§ Leisure = - 18,000
Government = - 52,000
Source is from CNBC

This unemployment number again tells us that the recovery will be in a very slow pace. It will take at least a year or two for the U.S. economy to easy this unemployment pain. Apparently, the confidence level of investors was in a downgrade trend as stocks tumbled today. The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) fell 212 points, or 2.5%. The S&P 500 (SPX) index lost 27 points, or 2.9% and the Nasdaq (COMP) fell 49 points, or 2.7%.