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The US unemployment rate dropped to 8.3 percent in January, from 8.5 percent the previous month, the Labour
Department said Friday.
The figure has been falling since August, and now stands at its
lowest level in nearly three years.
The better-than-expected January figure reflected the addition of
243,000 jobs in the month, with widespread growth across the private
sector, the Bureau of Labour Statistics said.
The largest gains were in professional and business services,
leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing. Government employment,
which has weighed heavily on the unemployment figures as local
governments cut spending, remained flat.
