U.S. adds 243,000 jobs in January ‘big surprise’
Jobless rate falls to 8.3%; November, December gains revised higher
By Jeffry Bartash, MarketWatch
Feb. 3, 2012, 9:41 a.m. EST
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — U.S. companies hired the most workers in nine months and the nation’s unemployment rate fell to the lowest level in nearly three years, according to the government’s employment report for January.
The U.S. gained 243,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate dipped to 8.3% as most sectors of the economy added workers, the Labor Department said Friday.
The increase in hiring was the biggest since last April and supplies further evidence that the economy continues to strengthen after a slowdown last summer. The U.S. has added an average of 183,000 jobs a month in the past five months.
Hiring has also spread to most sectors of the economy. Jobs were added last month in manufacturing and construction, professional services, retail, health care, and food and restaurant establishments.
The increase easily surpassed Wall Street forecasts. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch, for example, predicted the U.S. would add a seasonally adjusted 121,000 jobs last month, with an unemployment rate of 8.5%.
Wall Street reacted positively, with stocks rallying at the open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 100 points in the early going, putting the blue-chip benchmark within hailing distance of its 52-week high.
“It definitely was a big surprise,” said Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets. “The gains were broad based across all industries.”
As part of its report, the Labor Department also issued its annual “benchmark” changes to employment data over the past 21 months. The newly revised data show that the U.S. gained 1.82 million jobs in 2011, up from an initial estimate of 1.64 million.
In December, the increase in payrolls was revised up to 203,000 from an initial report of 200,000. And November payrolls were revised up to 157,000 from 100,000...
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http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-adds-243000-jobs-in-january-2012-02-03
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