There was disappointing jobs news from the United States for the second month running.<br /><br />Employers there hired far fewer workers than expected in January – just 113,000.<br /><br />In addition job gains for December were barely revised up on the basis of updated information. They were raised only 1,000 to 75,000.<br /><br />December’s weak figures were blamed on cold weather, but that was not a factor in January as was demonstrated by strong gains in the construction structure. <br /><br />Hiring slipped in retail, utilities, government, and education and health.<br /><br />The numbers could be a problem for the Federal Reserve, which has started to taper its stimulus programme on the basis that the economy is on the mend.<br /><br />But new Fed chief Janet Yellen can take heart from the fact that the unemployment rate dropped a tenth of a percentage point to 6.6 percent last month, even as more people came into the labour force.<br /><br />The jobless rate is based on a survey of households, which is why it differs from the headline trend from the government figures. <br /><br />By the numbers<br /><br />The private sector accounted for all the hiring in January. Government payrolls fell 29,000, the largest decline since October 2012.<br /><br />Manufacturing employment increased 21,000, rising for a sixth month. Retail sector jobs fell 12,900 after strong increases in the prior months, the first decline since March.<br /><br />Construction payrolls bounced back 48,000 after being depressed by the weather in December. It was the largest increase since December 2012.<br /><br />Average hourly earnings rose five cents. The length of the workweek was steady at an average of 34.4 hours.<br /><br />The participation rate, or the proportion of working-age Americans who have a job or are looking for one, increased to 63 percent from 62.8 percent in December, when it fell back to the more than 35-year low hit in October. <br /><br />The unemployment rate is now flirting with the 6.5 percent level that Fed officials have said would trigger discussions over when to raise benchmark interest rates from near zero. <br /><br />But US central bank policymakers have made it clear that rates will not rise any time soon even if the unemployment threshold is breached.
