Woof. May was a dog of a month for hiring, according to the latest jobs numbers released by the government today. After an optimistic start to the year, it’s clear after several disappointing results that the U.S. labor market is still stagnant. Businesses, concerned about Europe’s ability to contain its financial crisis and the slowing economies of major developing countries like China, Brazil and India, appear reluctant to hire. Let’s dig into the numbers.

69,000. The net number of non-farm jobs created in May. It's the lowest number of the year, and with newly updated measures of jobs growth in March and April also revised downward, it enunciates the slow growth in the labor market.