Washington ? U.S. companies slashed payrolls for a seventh straight month in August, raising new worries that a weak job market could shackle the budding economic recovery.

Payrolls fell by 92,000 last month after a loss of 49,000 jobs in July, the Labor Department reported from its survey of U.S. businesses. Analysts had expected an improving economy to create 12,000 jobs.

“This suggests that we may be further than we thought from a truly sustainable economic recovery,” said Bill Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock Financial Services Inc.

On Wall Street, the disappointing report sent stocks lower. The Dow closed down 84 points, and the Nasdaq fell almost 11 points.

Based on a separate survey of households, the unemployment rate fell in August to 6.1 percent from 6.2 percent.

Labor Department analysts said they believed the payroll statistics from the survey of businesses provided a more accurate picture of the economy because the survey figures were based on a larger sample.

Recent economic data had suggested the economy was perking up: many retailers reported robust August sales, construction spending was up and manufacturers saw demand for their products sharply rise.

Improvements have failed to trickle down to the job market, however. Businesses remain extremely cautious about hiring and are holding down costs by doing more with fewer workers. That huge rise in productivity is to blame for some of the job losses.

Also worrisome is that layoffs occurred in a range of industries last month. Hiring was reported in health care and construction, but the gains were too small to offset losses in manufacturing, business services and government.