Stock market plunges as U.S. employers add fewer jobs than analysts had anticipated, according to the Associated Press. The report ultimately caused the Dow Jones industrial average to drop 200 points, which puts it down for the year. This also marks the steepest one-day drop in the past six months. Adding to the stress are the signs of a global economic slowdown, indicated by the 11% unemployment rate for the 17 country that use the euro as currency.
“The big worry now is that this economic slowdown is widening and accelerating,” explained Sam Stovall, the chief equity strategist for the market research firm S&P Capital IQ.
Only 69,000 jobs were added in the United States this past May, causing the unemployment rate to rise to 8.2 percent. Ever hopeful, economists had initially hoped that employers would add nearly 158,000 jobs over the course of the month. Even China, which helped keep the global economy afloat during the recent recession, is showing signs of strain. According to reports, manufacturing was down in May.
In addition to issues with the Dow, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index and Nasdaq composite index were also down two percent. However, these two indexes are currently still up for the year.