Unemployment Rate Virtually Unchanged for U.S., Blacks

First jobs report of the New Year shows employers added 157,000 jobs

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday said the national unemployment rate was mostly unchanged at 7.9 percent in January. The rate was reported at 7.8 percent in December. The unemployment rate for blacks remained high at 13.8, a slight tick down from 14 percent in December. The rate for Hispanics (9.7 percent) and whites (7.0 percent)  showed little movement for a third straight month. Employers added 157,000 jobs in Janaury. That's slightly less than the 161,000 predicted. A total of 12.3 million Americans were unemployed in January. The number of long-term unemployed – people who had been jobless for more than 27 weeks – was 4.7 million last month.

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Jobless Rates Drop in Almost All U.S. States

The Labor Department reports unemployment rates fell in 42 states.

Jobless rates ended 2012 lower than where they began, according to the Labor Department. The labor department previously announced a 5-year low in unemployment applications, largely attributing it to seasonality. The most recently released data show that, from December 2011, 42 states and the District of Columbia registered unemployment rate decreases from December from a year earlier.

The trend is expected to carry over into 2013, with Standard & Poor’s saying it expects “total nonfarm employment growth to rise 1.6 percent in 2013,” in the eastern Atlantic region due to tourism. (Reuters)

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10 Things You Need To Know For Friday

The meningitis outbreak is growing. Federal health officials have tracked down 12,000 of the roughly 14,000 people who may have received the contaminated steroid shots blamed in the outbreak. Authorities warn that patients will need to keep watch for symptoms of the deadly infection for months. So far, 14 people have died.

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News in Photos: The 10 topics you should be ready to talk about today.