US businesses slowed the pace of hiring in January after a December surge. The January jobs gain was well below the 200,000 new jobs expected by most analysts. The slowdown in hiring was in line with expectations for Friday’s official January labor report. The average analyst estimate is for the unemployment rate to remain unchanged at 8.5 percent, with the net number of jobs added to the economy falling to 155,000 from 200,000 in December. Read more here