BBC News - US employment growth registers sharp slowdown in May

BBC News - US employment growth registers sharp slowdown in May: "Markets had expected a rise of 150,000. It follows a downwardly revised but still rapid 232,000 increase in April.

Despite the slowdown, it was the eighth month in a row of positive employment growth, according to data from the US Labor Department.

The unemployment rate also rose unexpectedly to 9.1%, from 9% a month earlier.

The number of unemployed remained largely unchanged at 13.9 million, but the number of long-term unemployed - out of work for more than 26 weeks - rose by 361,000 to 6.2 million."