Unemployment fell to 9.7 percent in January; black unemployment still high

The nation's unemployment rate fell  unexpectedly from 10 percent to 9.7 percent in January, as black unemployment remained high at 16.5 percent.

The new numbers come as President Obama and the White House are trying to push a major jobs bill to encourage businesses to hire workers again and not long after the government reported that gross domestic product rose in the final quarter of 2009.

The official unemployment rate, however, does not include those who have left the workforce and are no longer looking for jobs.

Nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. About 20,000 jobs were lost last month. Jobs were added in temporary help services and retail but fell in construction, transportation and warehousing.

The total number of unemployed persons decreased to 14.8 million.

The official unemployment rate for blacks (16.5 percent) was nearly twice as high as that for Asians (8.4 percent) and significantly higher than the rate for Hispanics (12.6 percent).