Unemployment Falls Sharply, Job Growth Slows

Washington, DC, Feb. 4, 2011 -- Although the unemployment rate dropped sharply last month to 9%, company payrolls grew by only 36,000 net jobs in January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In one bright spot, manufacturing added 49,000 jobs, the most since August 1998. And retailers added 28,000 jobs, the largest number in a year.

The unemployment rate has fallen by eight-tenths of a percentage point in the past two months. That's the largest two-month drop in nearly 53 years.

However, many people have given up looking for work, and the government no longer counts them as unemployed.

The number of people unemployed fell by more than 600,000 in January to 13.9 million. That's still about double the total that were out of work before the recession began in December 2007.

The weakness in hiring was widespread.