The US Labor Department's report for the month of January says that the economy added only 36,000 jobs. Despite the lack of job growth, the unemployment rate dropped from 9.4% to 9%. Most economists say that they attribute the lack of job growth to the bad weather in January, but added that there still needed to to be more growth in general to really improve the economy. The report also increased the number of jobs created in November and December to 93,000 and 121,000, respectfully. The unemployment rate also shows differentiation based on education, with those with a bachelor's degree or higher having an unemployment rate of 4.2%, and those with less than a high school diploma with an unemployment rate of 14.2%.
See "Weather a Factor in Slow U.S. Growth", Motoko Rich, The New York Times, February 3, 2011