jobless rate

Employers went on a hiring spree in January and drove down the unemployment rate for a fifth straight month to 8.3 percent, its lowest point in nearly three years. The result pointed to a resurgent job market, and it sent stock futures surging. The Dow Jones industrial average futures, which were flat before the report, jumped 95 points.

A burst of hiring in December pushed the unemployment rate to its lowest level in nearly three years, giving the economy a boost at the end of 2011. The Labor Department said Friday that employers added a net 200,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent, the lowest since February 2009. The rate has dropped for four straight months.

The unemployment rate fell last month to its lowest level in more than two and a half years, as employers stepped up hiring in response to the slowly improving economy. The Labor Department says the unemployment rate dropped sharply to 8.6 percent last month, down from 9 percent in October. The rate hasn't been that low since March 2009.

Recovering financially after long-term unemployment isn't easy, but it's fairly straightforward: Pay off debts, rebuild savings, and adjust to your new income. Recovering emotionally is far more complicated -- it means retraining your brain and consciously shifting your perspective.

Nicholas, 60, is a paralegal who has been jobless for more than a year, and is worried about the possibility of losing his home in rural Pennsylvania. If he depletes his savings and cashes out of a life insurance policy, he can pay off his mortgage. But is that the smartest move?

New government data shows that the U.S. added just 54,000 new jobs in May, far less than what economists were expecting. The news, which sent the jobless rate up to 9.1%, sent stocks lower on Wall Street.

The unemployment rate fell last month in 39 states, evidence that companies are feeling more confident about the U.S. economy. Nationally, businesses have added more than 250,000 jobs per month, on average, in the past three months -- their fastest hiring spree in five years.

The unemployment rate fell to a two-year low of 8.8 percent in March and companies added workers at the fastest two-month pace since before the recession began.

Employers ramped up hiring in February, adding a total of 192,000 jobs to the U.S economy. Even better, the unemployment rate fell for the third straight month to 8.9% -- close to a two-year low. Private employers added 222,000 jobs last month, the most since April.

North Dakota topped Gallup's list of best places to find jobs last year, followed by other states rich in natural resources, such as South Dakota and Alaska. Meanwhile, Nevada, New Jersey and California were the worst states for job hunters.