Catherwood LibraryILR School

The new report from the Labor Department shows that the economy grew by 103,000 jobs in December, and the unemployment rate fell to 9.4%. The drop in the unemployment rate is mainly attributed to the drop in the number of workers looking for work, with 260,000 workers giving up on finding a job. The gain in jobs came from the private sector, which added 113,000 jobs. The public sector shed 10,000 jobs in December. The report also revised estimates for October and November to 210,000 and 71,000, raising both estimates. Economists say that the economy needs to add 120,000 jobs a month to keep up with new workers alone, and some say that they expected the number of jobs to pick up in 2011.