Unemployment rate falls to 9.4% as employers add 103,000 jobs

Employers added 103,000 jobs in December, far fewer than expected, as gains by education and health services and leisure and hospitality offset continuing losses in construction and local government, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

The nation's unemployment rate, which is calculated from a different survey, fell sharply, to 9.4% from 9.8%, partly because 260,000 Americans dropped out of the labor force, including many discouraged workers who gave up the job hunt. A total of 14.5 million Americans were out of work last month.