US payrolls rise less than forecast

US payrolls in December increased at the slowest pace since January 2011, indicating a pause in the recent strength of the US labour market that may have reflected the effects of bad weather. The 74,000 gain in payrolls, less than the most pessimistic projection in a Bloomberg survey, followed a revised 241,000 advance the prior month, Labor Department figures showed on Friday in Washington. The median forecast of 90 economists called for an increase of 197,000. The unemployment rate dropped to 6.7 per cent, the lowest since October 2008, as more people left the labour force.