Unemployment Rises; Markets Swoon

Businesses dramatically scaled back hiring in May, pushing the nation’s unemployment rate up to 8.2 percent and stoking fears that the economic recovery has stalled once again.

The Labor Department reported Friday morning that the country added a meager 69,000 jobs last month — less than half the number economists had expected. It also revised its estimate of job growth in April down from 115,000 to just 77,000.

Markets fell sharply at the news. By early afternoon, the Dow Jones, Standard & Poor’s and Nasdaq indexes had tumbled around two percent, with the Dow falling more than 200 points.

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