The economy added a disappointing 113,000 jobs last month, marking the second straight month of weak gains for the labor market.
Prior to the release of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report, economists surveyed by Bloomberg Businessweek predicted an average gain of 180,000 jobs.
The news is evidence that December's report, which at 74,000 was the worst seen in three years, was more than a momentary fluke. At the time, many hoped that the extreme winter weather that gripped the continental United States had played a role in the sagging numbers; however, the latest revision only bumped the number up to 75,000.
Meanwhile, November's numbers were revised from 241,000 to 274,000.
All in all, the unemployment rate dropped just slightly to 6.6 percent in January, versus 6.7 percent in December.
Construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade and mining were among those industries that saw an increase in employment during January.
The number of people working part time either because their hours were cut or they were unable to find full-time work, also known as involuntary part-time workers, fell by 514,000 to 7.3 million.
The number of long-term unemployed - defined as those who remain jobless for 27 weeks or more - dropped by 232,000 to 3.6 million. This group accounted for 35.8 percent of the unemployed, according to the report.
"Today's report is another reminder of both the progress that has been made and the challenges that remain," Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Jason Furman wrote on The White House Blog.
"But the economy is still healing from the Great Recession and steps are still needed to expand economic opportunity. Given the elevated long-term unemployment rate, extending emergency unemployment benefits for the 1.7 million workers who lost them is critical."
