NEW YORK, June 7 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar declined sharply in late trading on Friday, as the pace of U.S. job growth pulled back last month, fueling fears over a potential economic slowdown in the country.
Total nonfarm payroll employment ticked up by 75,000 in May and the unemployment rate remained at 3.6 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The slight growth fell below the monthly job gain of an averaged 164,000 this year, which was also lower than the average gain of 223,000 per month last year, the bureau said in a report.
Analysts said the slight employment growth came shy of the roughly 100,000 needed every month to support growth in the working-age population.
Despite the little changed unemployment rate, the number of persons unemployed less than 5 weeks increased by 243,000 to 2.1 million in May, following a decline in April, adding to concerns over a tepid labor market.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, decreased 0.51 percent at 96.5515 in late trading.
In late New York trading, the euro was up to 1.1337 dollars from 1.1273 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound rose to 1.2739 dollars from 1.2690 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar rose to 0.7003 dollar from 0.6976 dollar.
The U.S. dollar bought 108.16 Japanese yen, lower than 108.44 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar fell to 0.9868 Swiss franc from 0.9912 Swiss franc, and it decreased to 1.3271 Canadian dollars from 1.3370 Canadian dollars. Enditem
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