BLOOMBERG: Employment in U.S. Probably Dropped on Census Cutbacks. “Employment fell in June for the first time this year, reflecting a drop in federal census workers as the decennial population count began to wind down, economists said before a report today. Payrolls declined by 130,000 last month, according to the median estimate of 82 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Private employment, which excludes government jobs, rose for a sixth consecutive month, the survey showed.” Although headline unemployment dropped a bit, it’s because of people giving up.

UPDATE: Obama Finally Figured Out How To Drop The Unemployment Rate. “So stifle the economy and scare employers into not hiring that people simply give up looking for jobs, and therefore are not counted in the unemployment rate.”

ANOTHER UPDATE: Payrolls in U.S. Fell 125,000 in June; Jobless Rate at 9.5%. “Payrolls declined by 125,000 last month as the government cut 225,000 temporary workers conducting the 2010 census, Labor Department figures in Washington showed today. Economists projected a decline of 130,000 payrolls, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. Employment at companies rose 83,000. The jobless rate fell to 9.5 percent from 9.7 percent as the labor force shrank.”