unemployment rate

American employers substantially stepped up their hiring in January, bringing the unemployment rate down for the fifth month in a row.

The Labor Department reported the U.S. economy added 200,00 jobs in December and the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since 2009.

American employers stepped up their hiring in December, bringing the unemployment rate down again.

The American economy added 80,000 jobs in October, and the unemployment rate eased to 9%, the Labor Department reported Friday.

The job market hit a major roadblock last month, as hiring slowed to a crawl and the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose.

The economy gained just 18,000 jobs in the month, the government reported Friday, sharply missing most expectations and coming in even weaker than the paltry 25,000 jobs added in May.

Economists were eagerly awaiting this month's report, following a dismal report from May that originally showed a gain of just 54,000 jobs.

The jobs recovery picked up speed in April, as business payrolls swelled and the unemployment rate rose as more people returned to the workforce.

The job market continued to improve in March as strong business hiring took the unemployment rate to its lowest level in two years.

Economists used to say an unemployment rate around 5% was normal, but the recession may have changed all that.

The number of Americans suffering through long-term unemployment remains stubbornly high, according to a study released Thursday.

Although the jobs report today showed the unemployment rate dropping from 9.8 to 9.4 percent, it's estimated that half of that drop is from people who have given up the job hunt altogether.

Mitchell Hartman reports.