The US employment picture appears to be improving following months of mass corporate lay offs, US Labour Secretary Ms Elaine Chao said today.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in New York, Ms Chao also said US President Bush would soon issue new recommendations that should enable workers to gain a clearer insight into their retirement savings.
The Labour Department's latest employment figures showed that the unemployment rate fell unexpectedly to 5.6 per cent in January from 5.8 percent in December.
Total nonfarm payroll employment fell by 89,000 in January from December, the smallest decline in non-farm payroll employment since August.
Ms Chao also urged workers to pay more attention to their long-term retirement savings in the wake of the collapse of Enron Corporation. Thousands of workers lost much or all of their retirement savings that were invested in the failed energy firm's stock.
AFP