Stocks Plummet on Jobs Data

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 2, 2009 8:46 AM CDT
Stocks Plummet on Jobs Data
A trader uses a phone post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, June 30, 2009.   (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Stocks tumbled at the open today after a worse-than-expected drop in June payroll figures, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow sunk 135 points, while the Nasdaq and S&P fell 1.8% and 1.6%, respectively. The economy shed 467,000 non-farm jobs in June; economists had predicted a loss of 350,000. “Jobs are usually a lagging indicator,” said one researcher. “But this time, they’re almost a leading indicator. This is a consumer led recession.” (More stock market stories.)

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