WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- The U.S. unemployment rate in December dropped to 9.4 percent and the economy created 103,000 jobs, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday.
The latest rate, which marks a fall from November's 9.8 percent, represents the lowest figure since August 2009. The unemployment rate hasn't been lower than 9.4 percent since May 2009.
The December figure was better than economists' expectations but the job-growth number was less than the consensus prediction of about 150,000 jobs.
The 103,000 new jobs was better than the revised figure of 71,000 positions created in November but less than the updated 210,000 new job figure for October, the bureau said.
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The December report said about 8.9 million people were unemployed, an improvement of 548,000 over the previous month. About 6.4 million of those, however, have been without work for more than 26 weeks. The bureau said there are about 1.3 million "discouraged workers," a term used for those who have stopped looking for work.
Most of the new jobs were created in the leisure and hospitality (47,000) and healthcare (36,000) sectors. Thousands of others were added in the food service and drinking places category.
University of Maryland economics Professor Peter Morici called it "another disappointing jobs report" because the number of people who stopped looking for work, 260,000, was higher than the number of jobs created. He blamed the trade deficit, which has jumped 37 percent since July.
"Too many stimulus dollars are being spent on goods from China," he said.
Director Christine Owens of the National Employment Law Project said: "Today's jobs report gives us no reason to take our foot off the gas in terms of creating new jobs and finding ways to support jobless Americans, particularly the long-term unemployed. We have a long, long way to go."
