The number of jobs lost in the US last month came in at 467,000, which was much more than had been expected. The jobless rate rose to 9.5% in June, from 9.4% in May, as the US economy continued to struggle. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of jobless people has risen by 7.2 million, the Department of Labor said...more

The unemployment rate across the 16 countries using the euro rose to 9.5% in May from 9.3% in April, data from the Eurostat agency has shown. It is the highest rate since May 1999. Fifteen million people were out of work, up by 273,000 from April. In the 27-nation EU, the jobless rate was 8.9%, while the number unemployed rose by 385,000 to 21.5 million. Spain had the highest unemployment rate at 18.7% while the Netherlands had the lowest rate of 3.2%...more

UK manufacturing activity shrank at its slowest pace for a year in June, a survey has indicated, adding to hopes that the worst of the downturn is over. The Purchasing Managers' Index from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) said the pace of decline in new orders continued to ease. And for the first time in 15 months, the output index was positive, indicating increased production...more

India's exports fell in May for the eighth month in a row as overseas demand for goods continued to shrink in the global recession. Exports in May were valued at 534.3bn rupees ($11bn; £6.7bn), down 29.2% from 655bn rupees a year earlier, government figures showed...more

The eurozone's annual rate of inflation turned negative in June for the first time since the single currency was introduced in 1999. Prices in the 16-nation zone fell 0.1% in the past year, Eurostat said. The inflation rate had been 0% in May...more

The UK economy contracted 2.4% in the first quarter of 2009, its biggest quarterly decline in 51 years, according to the latest official data. The decline was more severe than the earlier estimate of a 1.9% fall, and worse than analyst expectations...more

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has warned that the UK's recovery will be slow with unemployment rising to 10%. In its annual health check of the UK economy, the OECD says more must be done to shore up the banking system. It also warns that in the long-run, there needs to be a "comprehensive plan to rein back debt to a prudent level"...more

The property market continued to pick up in May, according to figures from the Bank of England. The number of mortgages approved for house buying rose to 43,414, up from the figure of 43,191 the month before. It was the fourth month in a row that approvals have risen, suggesting that the recent increase in sales is likely to continue...more

Japanese industrial output increased 5.9% in May compared with the month before, the third consecutive monthly climb, according to official data. The rise last month was the same as April's revised figure, though less than analysts' forecasts of 6.9%...more

House prices in England and Wales fell slightly again last month, according to figures from the Land Registry. The average house price in May fell by 0.2% from April to £152,497, while the annual rate of decline was 15.9%. This was a slight slowdown on the 16.2% year-on-year drop recorded for both April and March...more

Prices in Japan fell by the most on record last month, raising fears of a new bout of deflation, official figures from the Ministry of Finance show. Consumer prices fell 1.1% in May from the same month a year ago, the most since records began in 1970...more

New Zealand's economy has shrunk for the fifth consecutive quarter, making it officially the longest recession in its history. Gross domestic product (GDP) fell 1% in the first three months of the year from the previous quarter, which was more than had been expected...more