Unemployment Drops to Lowest Level in a Year and a Half
The unemployment rate in the United States dropped sharply to 9.4 percent last month. This is its lowest level in more than a year and a half. The Labor Department reported this morning that employers added 103,000 jobs in December, with an influx of 113,000 jobs from private employers. The government also reported that more people were hired in October and November than first estimated: 210,000 jobs in October, up from 172,000, and 71,000 in November, up from 39,000. The Labor Department report comes amid generally brighter economic data in recent weeks. Factories have ramped up production, and the service…