WASHINGTON (WKOW) -- The U.S. Labor Department released its January jobs report on Friday.
The unemployment rate fell for the fifth straight month after a surge of January hiring. The unemployment rate dropped to 8.3 percent from 8.5 percent in December. That's the lowest in nearly three years.
The Labor Department says employers added 243,000 jobs in January, the most in nine months.
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.
Hiring was widespread across many high-paying industries in January. Pay also increased. And the economy added 200,000 more jobs in 2011 than first thought.
