NEW YORK, July 3 (UPI) -- The U.S. unemployment rate rocketed to a nine-year high Thursday, sending stocks lower.
However, improvement in service-sector activity somewhat mitigated the dismal report, and Treasurys sold off. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 72.63 points at 9070.21, while the Nasdaq composite gave back 15.27 points to 1663.46.
The U.S. Labor Department said the unemployment rate climbed to 6.4 percent in June from 6.1 percent in May. Nonfarm payrolls declined by 30,000, after falling by a revised 70,000 jobs in May, the Wall Street Journal reported. The May figure had originally been reported as a decline of 17,000.
The dollar was stronger. It traded at 118.26 yen, up from 118.04 yen late Wednesday in New York, while the euro fell against the dollar to $1.1489 from $1.1542.
