US employment growth ground to a halt in June, with employers hiring the fewest number of workers in nine months, dampening hopes the economy was on the cusp of regaining momentum after stumbling in recent months. Non-farm payrolls rose only 18,000, the weakest reading since September, the Labor Department said, well below most economists' expectations for a 90,000 rise. Many economists raised their forecasts yesterday after a stronger-than-expected reading on US private hiring from payrolls processor ADP, and some expected gains of anywhere between 125,000 and 175,000. The unemployment rate climbed to 9.2%, the highest since December, from 9.1% in May. The US government revised April and May figures to show 44,000 fewer jobs created than previously reported. The report shattered expectations that the US economy was starting to accelerate after a soft patch in the first half of the year. The private sector added 57,000 jobs, accounting for all the jobs created, with government employment shrinking 39,000 because of fiscal problems at local and state governments. Economic activity in the first six months of the year was dampened by rising commodity prices and supply chain disruptions following Japan's devastating earthquake in March.