Employment growth in the United States slowed sharply in May, with only 54,000 net new jobs added during the month.
Markets had expected a rise of 150,000 after an increase of 232,000 in April.
The Labor Department says 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 - those out of work for more than 26 weeks - rose by 361,000 to 6.2 million.
The private sector created 83,000 new jobs in the month, but the BBC reports this is less than is needed to absorb new people coming into the labour market.
Stock markets fell sharply on Friday, with the FTSE 100 index falling 0.8% immediately after the announcement.
The Dow Jones dropped 1.2% at the start of trading, before recovering during morning trading in New York.
