Washington ? The nation’s unemployment rate remained stuck at 5.9 percent in July with a disappointing 6,000 new jobs created, increasing worries that the fledgling recovery could be in danger of stalling out.

Friday’s report by the Labor Department capped a week of dismal data in which economists’ hopes for signs of a rebound were dashed. Analysts had expected about 60,000 new jobs for July instead of the meager 6,000.

New hiring in the services industry was tempered by job cuts in construction and manufacturing.

“We’re falling slowly behind, not moving forward,” said Bill Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock Financial Services. “We have to run fast just to stay in place and we’re not doing it.”

The lackluster jobs report caused stocks to tumble on Wall Street with concerns that the economy isn’t turning around as quickly as hoped. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 193 points and the Nasdaq composite index slid 32 points.