Dean Baker, The Center for Economic and Policy Research : “The economy added just 80,000 jobs in June, bringing the average over the last four months to 92,000. This compares to a monthly rate of 252,000 for the four months from November to February. Part of the weakness in the June job growth is likely still attributable to better-than-trend job growth in the winter. This pulled hiring forward so that normal seasonal hiring did not take place. This pattern can be seen very clearly in several important sectors. Restaurant employment grew at an average rate of 29,000 in the winter months; it has grown by just 13,000 a month over the last four months. Retail employment grew by 22,000 a month in October through January. Since January, employment has fallen by a bit more than 1,000 jobs a month. Construction employment grew by an average of 14,000* a month from November to February. In the last four months it has fallen at an average rate of 14,000 a month. This drop is difficult to reconcile with Census data that show construction spending up 1.1 percent from February to May.”