WASHINGTON – U.S. employers added far fewer jobs to their payrolls last month than economists had expected, casting doubt on the momentum of the labor market's recovery.
Nonfarm business payrolls grew by 21,000 jobs in February, down from a revised 97,000 a month earlier, the Labor Department reported Friday. The unemployment rate held steady at 5.6%.
Economists had been expecting payrolls to grow by 125,000 jobs and for the unemployment rate to rise to 5.7%, according to a survey by Dow Jones Newswires and CNBC.
(((I wonder how these supposed 'smart' economists stay employed by always being so far off the mark a monkey could do a better job?)))
"Employers are still very, very cautious about adding bodies,'' said a disappointed Bill Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock. "If you are out there looking for a job, this is bad news.''
Indeed, thousands of workers gave up looking for jobs. The labor-force participation rate, which measures the work force as a percentage of the total population, plunged to a 15-year low of 65.9%. Approximately 392,000 people left the civilian work force during the month. |
