US jobless rate drops in December
The US unemployment rate dropped to 9.4% in December from 9.8% in November, according to official figures.
Some 103,000 jobs were created last month, the Labor Department said, although this was fewer than the 145,000-175,000 that had been forecast.
Small businesses are starting to hire again, offsetting job losses from cutbacks in the public sector.
The BBC's Juliana Liu reports from New York.
07 Jan 2011
- From the section Business