NEW YORK (July 6, 2012)--Stocks closed sharply lower Friday after the U.S. government reported that only 80,000 jobs were created in June, the third straight month of weak hiring.

The unwillingness of U.S. employers to add jobs quickly shows that the economy is still struggling three years after the recession officially ended.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 124 points to close at 12,772 Friday and the loss wiped out the Dow's gain for the week.

The Standard & Poor's 500 slid 13 points to close at 1,355 and the Nasdaq composite fell 39 points to end the day at 2,937.

Falling stocks outpaced rising ones by over two to one on the New York Stock Exchange where volume was very thin at 2.6 billion shares.