The US unemployment rate fell 0.1% to 7.6% but failed to meet expectations.

Nonfarm payroll employment was up by 88,000, though job gains over the prior 12 months had averaged 169,000 per month.

“The number is disappointing and moderately concerning but one month does not make a trend,” Wells Fargo Private Bank Miami-based regional chief investment officer David Roda told Bloomberg.

“Yes, it’s a miss and it’s worth focusing on but we don’t think it changes our forecast for a modest improvement in employment this year.”

Stocks responded with falls, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.3%, the S&P 500 down 0.4% and the NASDAQ down nearly 0.7%.

The results weighed on European stocks too, with the Euro Stoxx down 1.4% after a 2% slump in Germany’s key DAX index.

London’s FTSE 100 dropped 1.5%.

Gold in New York had a much-needed gain, adding 1.5% or $US23.50 to $1575.90 per ounce.

Metals on the London Metal Exchange were mostly lower, with lead the worst hit with a 1.4% drop to $2018.25 per tonne.

The Australian dollar dropped 0.1% to $1.036, while iron ore took a hit, falling from $135.90/t to $128/t.