U.S. Economy Added 113,000 Jobs in January

Unemployment Rate at 6.6 Percent

The U.S. economy added 113,000 jobs in January, according to a Labor Department report released Friday morning. This is far less than the average monthly gain of 194,000 last year. This follows December’s tepid increase of just 75,000. Job gains have averaged only 154,000 the past three months, down from 201,000 in the preceding three months.

U.S. growth came in at a sturdy 3.7 percent annual pace in the second half of last year.

The nation's unemployment rate ticked down to 6.6 percent.

Analysts expected the report to show that the country had added 180,000 jobs last month, and that the unemployment rate remained at 6.6 percent. (Wash Post, 2/7/2014)