US Economy Adds 113000 Jobs; Unemployment Rate at 6.6%

The American economy added 113,000 jobs in January, a disappointing showing that is likely to spur fears that the labor market is poised for yet another slowdown.

Before the report from the Labor Department on Friday morning, economists had been looking for the economy to gain 180,000 positions last month. But after an extraordinarily weak showing for hiring in December, some experts had been concerned that weakness would carry into 2014 and signal a broader loss of momentum in the economy.

The unemployment rate in January was 6.6 percent, compared with 6.7 percent in December.

While some other economic figures have suggested strength in the economy recently, especially the robust rate of growth in the United States in the second half of 2013, the labor market has been healing more slowly.