Job Weakness Starts to Shape Election Tone

It is increasingly apparent what the economy will look like when President Obama faces voters in November: pretty much what it looks like today.

And that picture, a report from the Labor Department made clear on Friday, is far from the booming job growth that prevailed only a few months ago. In June, the economy added a meager 80,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate remained at 8.2 percent. 

Early this year, optimists buzzed that the jobless rate might touch below 8 percent by the election, a milestone that would be a major symbolic victory for the incumbent. Then employment growth slowed in March and took a turn toward the paltry in April and May. 

READ MORE:  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/07/business/economy/unemployment-report-for-june.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all