Unemployment Falls to 9%

But that's partially because many have stopped looking
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 4, 2011 8:17 AM CST
Unemployment Falls to 9%
In this Feb. 1, 2011 photo, an unemployed man takes a roll call at the Day Worker Center of Mountain View in Mountain View, Calif.   (Paul Sakuma)

The unemployment rate dropped sharply last month to 9%, the lowest level in nearly two years. But the economy added only 36,000 new jobs, the fewest in four months. The unemployment rate has fallen by eight-tenths of a percentage point in the past two months; that's the steepest two-month drop in nearly 53 years. But part of that drop has occurred as many of those out of work gave up on their job searches—when unemployed people stop looking for jobs, the government no longer counts them as unemployed.

In one bright spot, manufacturing added 49,000 jobs, the most since August 1998. And retailers added 28,000 jobs, the largest number in a year. In the past three months, the economy generated an average of 83,000 net jobs per month—not enough to keep up with population growth. The number of people unemployed fell to 13.9 million in January, about double the total that were out of work before the recession began in December 2007. (More unemployment stories.)

Get breaking news in your inbox.
What you need to know, as soon as we know it.
Sign up
Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X