The U.S. economy added 311,000 new jobs in February, well above expectations.
The unemployment rate rose to 3.6% after falling to a 52-year low of 3.4% in January, the Labor Department said on Friday.
- The figure came in above the 225,000 new jobs estimated by Dow Jones.
- Average hourly earnings rose 4.6% annually in February, lower than the expected 4.8%.
- Wages rose 0.2% on a monthly basis, below the 0.4% expected by analysts.
- The
leisure and hospitality sector saw the biggest job gains, with 105,000
new jobs, slightly up from the six-month average of 91,000.
- The number of information-related and warehousing jobs fell by 25,000 and 22,000, respectively, in February.
- The job market has posted strong growth in recent months — 504,000 jobs were added in January and 239,000 in December.
- Earlier
this week, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told Congress that the
strong labor market was a key reason to further raise interest rates and
keep them elevated for longer.
- The latest data means the Fed is still likely to implement a 50-basis-point interest rate hike at its next meeting. The Fed hiked rates by 25 basis points in February, when it appeared that inflation was cooling down.
