kennyboy: jobless recovery ? markets ?
U.S. Economy Added 262,000 Jobs in February
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 8:39 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) --America's employers added a sizable 262,000 jobs in February -- the most in four months. The new hiring, however, wasn't sufficiently brisk to accommodate a wave of job-seekers, and the overall unemployment rate rose to 5.4 percent.
The latest snapshot of the country's employment climate, released by the Labor Department on Friday, showed job gains across a range of industries -- from manufacturing and construction to retail and business services.
The gain of 262,000 jobs in February was stronger than the increase of 225,000 positions that economists were forecasting before the release of the employment report. Payroll growth in February was up from January's sluggish gain of 132,000, which was less than the 146,000 increase initally reported.
The rise in the overall civilian unemployment rate to 5.4 percent in February was up from 5.2 percent in January. The increase last month came in part as more jobseekers streamed back into the market.
The unemployment rate is calculated from a separate statistical survey than the payroll figures. Thus, they can offer somewhat different pictures of what is happening in the labor market. |
