Stocks waver after mixed unemployment report

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks bounced between small gains and losses this morning after a report said the unemployment rate fell last month but that new jobs remain scarce.

The government said that unemployment in January dropped to 9.0 percent from 9.4 percent in December. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to rise to 9.5 percent, in part because of harsh winter weather that affected much of the country.

The government said that 36,000 new jobs were created last month, the fewest in four months. The slow job growth left some analysts skeptical that the economic recovery is picking up pace.

“We are seeing some improvements but the disappointing jobs creation shows that the job market is not back to where we need it to be,” said Ryan Detrick, senior strategist at Schaeffer’s Investment Research. The lack of new jobs will likely lead the Federal Reserve to continue its efforts to boost the economy, he said.

Jim O’Sullivan, chief economist at MF Global, said that the market is discounting the big drop in the unemployment rate. “The information value of this report is limited because it was obviously affected by the weather,” he said.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 19 points, or 0.2 percent, to 12,043 in morning trading. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fell 2 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,305. The Nasdaq composite index gained 1 point, or less than 0.1 percent, to 2,755.