Payrolls up meager 36,000 as jobless rate falls

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Employment rose ~ means of a meager 36,000 jobs in January, far less than expected, viewed like severe snow storms slammed large parts of the nation, but the unemployment reckon fell to its lowest level since April 2009.

The increase in nonfarm payrolls reported by the Labor Department on Friday was a quarter of the 145,000 greaten that economists had expected.

The government noted that severe weather could possess affected construction payrolls, which dropped 32,000 last month. There were furthermore large declines in the employment of couriers and messengers.

A sphere of duty official also said 886,000 people in the separate household survey said they did not work in January because of severe endure.

“Weather did have an impact, construction was weak, below run, and transportation and warehousing was also pretty soft and that could have ~ing affected by weather,” said Sean Incremona, an economist at 4Cast in New York.

U.S. stipe index futures fell on the data, while U.S. bond prices extended losses The dollar fell, then recovered against major currencies.

The modest jobs gains are at inequality with other data for January, which had suggested employment growth was picking up and had raised hopes that the manufacturing-driven regaining was now spreading to other sectors of the economy.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE DROPS

There was more good news in the employment report as the jobless rate cruel to 9 percent from 9.4 percent in December. The family survey from which the unemployment rate is derived showed the call over of unemployed dropped by about 600,000 last month.

The unemployment assessment had previously declined largely as a result of people giving up the seeking for work, but in January the labor force was unchanged, fair after adjustments for updated population controls.

Still, the decline is unlikely to discourage the Federal Reserve from completing its 0 billion government bond-buying program to support the economy, as discouraged jobseekers are expected to return to the labor market.

The labor market has lagged the broader thrift, which grew at a 3.2 percent annual rate in the fourth region. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke on Thursday acknowledged the pick-up in the recruiting, but said “it will be several years before the unemployment set a value on has returned to a more normal level.”

The government revised November and December payrolls to reveal 40,000 more jobs created that previously estimated.

“All household data is two steps forward, one step back. We’re certainly going in the fair direction; however, nowhere near as fast as everyone wants us to,” uttered Robert Lutts, president and chief investment officer at Cabot Money Management in Salem, Massachusetts.

The Labor Department besides finalized its annual benchmark revisions to its payroll series, which showed the on a ~ of employment for March 2010 overstated by 378,000.