Washington ? Employers hired less help in June than economists anticipated — adding 112,000 new payroll jobs — and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.6 percent for a third straight month.

President Bush, defending his handling of the economy as he seeks a second term, told a White House audience: “We don’t need a boom-or-bust type growth.”

Friday’s Labor Department report presented, at best, a mixed picture of the health of the labor market as the midsummer presidential nominating conventions draw near and debate intensifies between Bush and Sen. John Kerry.

June’s payroll increase was the 10th straight month of gains. But analysts had forecast a rise of at least 250,000 in payroll employment as another sign of renewed strength in the labor market. Payrolls in April and May also were revised down slightly from the big gains previously reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“The economy of the United States has been through a lot,” Bush told a group of business executives Friday at the White House. “It’s remarkable to be able to stand up and say to you that our economy is strong and getting stronger.”

“We’re witnessing steady growth and that’s important,” he said. “We want just steady consistent growth so that our fellow citizens will be able to find a job and so that the small-business sector will feel confident about expanding.”

Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland, Pa., said, “I’m not ready to panic. But clearly the job market is not as strong as we initially thought.”

The overall civilian unemployment rate has stayed at 5.6 percent all year, except for March, when it rose to 5.7 percent. Economists expect the rate to slowly decline throughout the year. But job growth first must absorb all the people returning to the pool of available workers. Last month, the labor force grew by 305,000.

Bush has been counting on continued employment growth to boost his re-election effort. But one obstacle he faces is convincing Americans that their job prospects are truly brightening.