Unemployment Down to 8.3%, Employers Add 243,000 Jobs in January

Unemployment rate falls to 8.3 percent in January after hiring burst

Published February 03, 2012 | Associated Press

The unemployment rate fell for the fifth straight month after a surge of January hiring, a promising shift in the nation's outlook for job growth.

The Labor Department says employers added 243,000 jobs in January, the most in nine months.

The unemployment rate dropped to 8.3 percent from 8.5 percent in December. That's the lowest in nearly three years.

Employers have added an average of 201,000 jobs per month in the past three months. That's 50,000 more jobs per month than the economy averaged in each month last year.