US unemployment fell in January to 9% from 9.4% a month earlier, the Department of Labor said. It is the second such monthly fall, after unemployment fell from a rate of 9.8% in November.
But despite this, the number of jobs created, at 36,000, was far below the expected 140,000.
A large part of the drop in unemployment was due to job-seekers giving up looking for work, so they ceased to be classified as unemployed.
The number of people "marginally attached to the workforce" - meaning they were not actively looking but available to work - increased to 2.8 million from 2.5 million a year ago.
Most of the new jobs created came in manufacturing (up 49,000), particularly in durable goods such as car construction.
The retail sector added a further 28,000, and healthcare 11,000.
However, these gains were partly offset by continued job losses in other parts of the economy, notably construction where employment fell 32,000.
The US housing and commercial property markets continue to be heavily depressed, although the Department suggested the January data may have been affected by "severe winter weather".
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