WASHINGTON (AP) -- Economists say there were barely enough new jobs in January to keep up with the population growth.
They expect that the Labor Department's Friday report on unemployment for January will show a net total of 146,000 new jobs. And the jobless rate is likely to tick up to 9.5 percent from 9.4 percent the month before.
It takes about 125,000 new jobs a month just to keep up with population growth. And the economy needs to add more than double that amount to make a significant dent in the unemployment rate.
But some analysts are more optimistic, after several positive economic reports were released Thursday. They say job gains could be larger. The service sector, which employs 90 percent of the work force, expanded at the fastest pace in five years last month. Also, retail sales increased and factory orders grew in December.
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