Employer-Paid

In the most impressive surge for the job market since early last year, the United States added 243,000 jobs in January, far more than economists expected. The unemployment rate dropped to 8.3 percent, the lowest in three years.

A round-up of the weeks employee benefits news, reports and controversy

As health care reform provisions are coming down, human resources and finance departments are practicing an increasingly shared role when it comes to benefits, rewards and compensations, says Randall Abbott, senior health and group benefits consultant at Towers Watson, a global professional services company in New York City.

Although more employers are projected to hire rather than lay off workers in February, the numbers are still expected to be behind from 2011, according to a report from the Society for Human Resource Management.

Although the economy is still recovering, the restaurant industry is projected to expand in 2012, according to the National Restaurant Association's 2012 Restaurant Industry Forecast.

The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to a level that signaled a steadily improving job market. The figures came one day before the government is expected to report that January marked another solid month for hiring.