The unemployment rate ticked up slightly to reach 7.9 percent in January. This followed an unemployment rate of 7.8 percent in December 2012. Excluding the effects of rounding, the actual increase in the unemployment rate was less than 0.1 percentage point.
The labor force participation rate stayed the same in January. It has remained at 63.6 percent since November 2012, when it fell from 63.8 percent in October 2012.
