"The economy continued its sluggish performance in June as employers added just 80,000 jobs..."

"... and the nation’s unemployment rate remained at 8.2 percent, the government reported Friday...."

During the first quarter of 2012, employers added an average of 226,000 jobs a month, the Labor Department said. But job creation slowed in the second quarter to an average of 75,000 a month--far below the level that is needed to make a dent in the unemployment rate.

The job market seemed to flatline on all fronts in June, as only professional and business services added jobs, while other industries showed little change. The number of people officially labeled unemployed held steady at 12.7 million, and the number of people who have been out of work for six months or more remained at 5.4 million, accounting for nearly 42 percent of the overall unemployed.