Official figures show that US employment rose by far less than expected in January, partly the result of severe snow storms, but the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since April 2009.
Employment grew by just 36,000, the Labor Department said, far less than the 145,000 increase that economists had expected.
The report noted that severe weather could have affected construction employment, which dropped 32,000 last month. There were also large declines in the employment of couriers and messengers.
The modest jobs gains are at odds with other data for January, which had suggested employment growth was picking up and had raised hopes that the manufacturing-driven recovery was now spreading to other sectors of the economy.
Despite the small increase in employment, the jobless rate, which is calculated from a separate survey, fell to 9% from 9.4% in December. The decline is unlikely to discourage the Federal Reserve from completing its $600 billion government bond-buying programme to support the economy.
The department revised November and December figures to show 40,000 more jobs created that previously estimated.
The labour market has lagged the broader economy, which grew at a 3.2% annual rate in the fourth quarter. Fed chairman Ben Bernanke on Thursday acknowledged the pick-up in the recovery, but said 'it will be several years before the unemployment rate has returned to a more normal level'.
The payrolls data comes from a survey of businesses, while the jobless rate is determined by a survey of households. The January household survey also reflects population changes, which makes it difficult to determine why the jobless rate fell.
