The labor market continued to tighten in January as more people gave up on finding work and the ratio of job offers to job seekers hit its lowest level in nearly 5 1/2 years, the government said Friday in a preliminary report.
The unemployment rate eased for the first time in three months to a seasonally adjusted 4.1 percent, signaling more people gave up on finding jobs.
The offers-to-seekers ratio sank for an eighth consecutive month to 0.67.