Unemployment rose to 9.2 percent as hiring stalls

Can't wait to hear the White House try and spin this. WASHINGTON -

Hiring slowed to a near-standstill last month. Employers added the fewest jobs in nine months and the unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent.

The Labor Department says the economy generated only 18,000 net jobs in June. And the number of jobs added in May was revised down to 25,000.

High gas prices and supply-chain disruptions stemming from the Japan crisis and the weak housing market have slowed the economy. Average hourly wages declined last month. After-tax incomes, adjusted for inflation, have been flat this year.

Businesses added the fewest jobs in more than a year. Governments cut 39,000 jobs.