The U.S. economy added an encouraging 243,000 new jobs in January, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, and the official unemployment rate decreased to 8.3%, down from the 8.5% recorded for December of 2011.

The data includes 257,000 new private-sector jobs, a sign that private-sector employers are gaining confidence in the economy. Economists had been forecasting job gains ranging from 125,000 to 155,000.

However, there is one piece of data that tempered the good news – 1.2 million people dropped out of the labor force last month, bringing the labor force participation rate to 63.7%, a 30-year low.

Nevertheless, January's official unemployment rate is the lowest since February of 2009, and it has dropped eight-tenths of a point since last August, when the rate was 9.1%..

Labor experts estimate that approximately 150,000 new jobs are needed each month just to keep up with changes in the labor market, and that about 250,000 new jobs are needed each month to quickly bring down the unemployment rate.

The January figures come two days after the Department of Labor reported a decline of 12,000 in the number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits for the week that ended Jan. 28, and a lower four-week moving average of new jobless claims, which now stands at 375,750.

In January, job gains were reported in a variety of sectors, including 50,000 new manufacturing jobs.

The January report also follows an encouraging December 2011 jobs report, which originally said 200,000 new jobs were added. The Labor Department revised its employment data for November and December, indicating that 60,000 more new jobs were created in those two months than first reported.

The broader unemployment rate, which takes into account people looking for work and part-time workers who are seeking full-time work, dropped one-tenth of a point in January. It now stands at 15.1%.

CUNA Mutual Insurance Society has completed its reorganization and changed its name to CMFG Life Insurance Co. after an organizational change to a new mutual holding company, approved last fall by the insurance regulator. “CUNA Mutual Group” will remain the trade name for the company and its subsidiaries.

W.A. Roosevelt, with five offices in Wisconsin, including McFarland, has merged with North Dakota-based Dakota Supply Group (DSG). Roosevelt distributes air-conditioning and refrigeration products as well as products for plumbing, heating, and electrical. The Roosevelt name will be retained, as will its staff of about 100 employees. DSG is a similar though much larger company, with about 400 employees in 16 offices across three states.

The U.S. Labor Department said the number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits declined by 12,000 last week, another sign of an improving labor market in advance of the government’s monthly jobs report.

The Labor Department reported the initial unemployment claims decreased by 12,000 to 367,000 in the week that ended Jan. 28, more than the 7,000 forecast in a Dow Jones survey of economists.

Although the previous week's figures were revised upward from 377,000 to 379,000, the four-week moving average of new jobless claims decreased last week by 2,000 to 375,750. When that number is consistently below 400,000, economists view that as a positive sign that the economy is adding jobs.

After Sub-Zero union employees took concessions – including 20% salary and benefit reductions – so their jobs would be secure through 2018, the upscale refrigeration and stove company announced it would cut 100 jobs by the end of June due to “changing business circumstances.” The job cuts affecting 75 full-time and 25 part-time positions are part of a decision to close Sub-Zero’s Hammersley Road plant, though it is hoped some of the jobs can be transferred to its Fitchburg location, which is not affected by the announcement, according to reports.