Cuts in Census Bureau workers and local and state government job cuts drove U.S. jobs down by 125,000 in June, according to numbers released today from the U.S. Department of Labor.

It was the nation’s first loss in jobs in the past six months.

Despite losses in government jobs, the number of private-sector jobs rose, but not to the extent expected. The private sector added 83,000 jobs, up from 33,000 in May.

One of the biggest factors in the June employment decline was a loss of 225,000 Census Bureau workers.

“Overall, it’s weak with very little breadth in new hiring,” John Herrmann, senior fixed-income strategist at State Street Global Markets, told Bloomberg. “This will lead to second-half consumption growth well below the first half.”

Jobs fell to a 14-year low in the construction industry in June, the lowest since 1996.

“The recession may have ended a year ago for most of the economy, but for construction, job losses and business closures continue every month,” said Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Association of General Contractor of America, in a statement.

Construction spending fell in May by 8 percent from the same month last year. The Census Bureau reported that private construction spending dropped in May from April, but public construction spending increased. In total, the adjusted annual rate for spending in May dropped 0.2 percent, leaving the rate at $841.9 billion.

Highway and education construction led the increase in public spending, a total increase of 0.4 percent compared with April.

The Associated General Contractors of America urged the White House and Congress to continue spending on public projects, especially infrastructure and drinking water.

“Stimulus has made a difference, but Congress needs to provide long-term funding for transportation and water projects to assure further economic growth,” Simonson said. “It’s even more important not to let funding lapse for highway, transit and airport construction funding.”