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Higher jobless rate sends oil prices lower

NEW YORK  — Oil is falling nearly 2 percent after the government said the U.S. unemployment rate increased to 9.1 percent.

The Labor Department says that employers added 54,000 jobs in May, the fewest in eight months. Job gains had averaged 220,000 over the past three months. Lackluster hiring could mean gasoline consumption will continue to slide this summer.

The unemployment report adds to a bevy of disappointing economic news this week, including a government report that wholesale gasoline demand has dropped for 10 weeks in a row.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery lost $1.98 to $98.42 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Retail gasoline prices increased less than a penny overnight to a new national average of $3.789 per gallon.

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