January Jobs Report: U.S. Gains 157,000 Jobs, Unemployment Rate Up

By Lucia Mutikani


WASHINGTON -- U.S. job growth grew modestly in January and gains in the prior two months were bigger than initially reported, supporting views that the economy's sluggish recovery was on track despite a surprise contraction in output in the final three months of 2012.

Employers added 157,000 jobs to their payrolls last month, the Labor Department said on Friday. There were 127,000 more jobs created in November and December than previously reported. The unemployment rate, however, edged up 0.1 percentage point to 7.9 percent.