Payrolls Decline; Unemployment Rate Holds at 5.5%

U.S. payrolls declined in June but the unemployment rate held at 5.5%, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Jobs fell for a sixth straight month, by 62,000, and the June figure brought total job losses for the first half of the year to 438,000, Bloomberg reported.

Economists had forecast a 60,000 drop for June, Bloomberg said.

Factory payrolls plunged by 33,000 jobs after falling by 22,000 in May. Economists had forecast a 30,000 drop in factory jobs, Bloomberg reported.

Service jobs rose by 7,000 for the month, Labor said.