U.S. Payrolls Rise Less Than Forecast; Jobless Rate Falls

Payrolls rose less than projected in January and the jobless rate unexpectedly dropped to the lowest level in more than five years, clouding the outlook for the U.S. economy and Federal Reserve.

The 113,000 gain in hiring fell short of the 180,000 advance that was the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg and followed a 75,000 increase the prior month, Labor Department data showed today in Washington. Unemployment declined to 6.6 percent, the least since October 2008, from 6.7 percent in December.