Payroll numbers slash unemployment
The national unemployment rate fell to 9 percent in January after the government released data showing non-farm payrolls added 36,000 jobs during the month. It marks the first time since April 2009 that the unemployment rate has reached this level.
The overall rate fell 0.4 percent from December, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. However, the 36,000 jobs were below expectations, showing that employee recruiting is still a dicey proposition among the country's employers. It marks the smallest payroll gain in four months, after projections from Bloomberg targeted 146,000 new jobs this month.
"Snow suppressed payrolls but look past it and the labor market is clearly improving," Ward McCarthy, chief financial economist at Jefferies & Co., told Bloomberg.
Construction and transportation payrolls were hurt most by the bad weather that has gripped much of the nation. Conversely, factory payrolls climbed at the highest rate since 1998, Bloomberg reports.
The unemployment rate fell to 9 percent as the number of unemployed dropped by 590,000 and the labor force decreased by 162,000 workers.
The overall rate fell 0.4 percent from December, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. However, the 36,000 jobs were below expectations, showing that employee recruiting is still a dicey proposition among the country's employers. It marks the smallest payroll gain in four months, after projections from Bloomberg targeted 146,000 new jobs this month.
"Snow suppressed payrolls but look past it and the labor market is clearly improving," Ward McCarthy, chief financial economist at Jefferies & Co., told Bloomberg.
Construction and transportation payrolls were hurt most by the bad weather that has gripped much of the nation. Conversely, factory payrolls climbed at the highest rate since 1998, Bloomberg reports.
The unemployment rate fell to 9 percent as the number of unemployed dropped by 590,000 and the labor force decreased by 162,000 workers.
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