U.S. jobless rate drops to 9.4%

The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 9.4 per cent last month, its lowest level in 19 months. That was because more people found jobs, but also because some people gave up on their job searches.

The Labour Department said employers added 103,000 jobs in December, an improvement from November's revised total of 71,000 but far below most analysts' expectations.

Once unemployed workers stop looking for work, the government no longer counts them as unemployed.

Through all of 2010, the nation added 1.1 million jobs, or an average of 94,000 jobs a month.