Payrolls in US Climb 227000; Jobless Rate Holds at 8.3% March 2012
U.S. employers added 227,000 jobs in February to complete three of the best months of hiring since before the recession, which started in 2007 and ended in 2009. The unemployment rate was unchanged, largely because more people streamed into the work force. The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate stayed at 8.3% last month, the lowest in three years.
And hiring in January and December was better than first thought. The government revised those figures to show 61,000 an additional jobs.
STORY: Jobless rate falling faster than many predicted
The economy has now generated an average of 245,000 jobs in the past three months. The only stretch better since the recession began was in early 2010.
That bodes well for President Barack Obama's re-election chances, although he's still likely to face the highest unemployment rate of any post-war president.
Payrolls
Last month's hiring was broad-based and in both high-paying and lower-paying industries. Manufacturing, mining, and professional services, such as accounting, all added jobs.
Nearly a half-million people began looking for work last month, and most found jobs, the report said. That's a sign of growing optimism in the job market, as many people who had given up on looking for work come off the sidelines to search for jobs.
That also counters a troubling trend: a key reason why the unemployment rate has dropped since last year is that many out-of-work people have stopped looking for work. Only people without jobs who are actively seeking one are counted as unemployed.
A sustained rise in the number of people looking for jobs would be a good sign, even if it pushed up the unemployment rate.
Friday's report comes as a host of data points to an improving economy and job market. Weekly applications for unemployment benefits have fallen about 14% in six months. Though they ticked up last week, average applications remain near a four-year low.
On Wednesday, payroll provider ADP said businesses added 216,000 employees last month, up from January's total. The ADP report doesn't include governments, which have been cutting jobs.
And service companies, which employ most Americans, are expanding at a faster pace, according to a private survey released this week. A gauge of employment shows that service firms are still hiring, particularly in the mining, educational services, and transportation and warehousing industries. Employers in the U.S. boosted payrolls more than forecast in February, capping the best six month streak of job growth since 2006. The jobless rate held at 8.3 percent.
The 227,000 increase in payrolls followed a revised 284,000 gain in January that was bigger than first estimated, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median projection of economists in a Bloomberg News survey called for a 210,000 rise in February employment.
And hiring in January and December was better than first thought. The government revised those figures to show 61,000 an additional jobs.
STORY: Jobless rate falling faster than many predicted
The economy has now generated an average of 245,000 jobs in the past three months. The only stretch better since the recession began was in early 2010.
That bodes well for President Barack Obama's re-election chances, although he's still likely to face the highest unemployment rate of any post-war president.
Payrolls
Last month's hiring was broad-based and in both high-paying and lower-paying industries. Manufacturing, mining, and professional services, such as accounting, all added jobs.
Nearly a half-million people began looking for work last month, and most found jobs, the report said. That's a sign of growing optimism in the job market, as many people who had given up on looking for work come off the sidelines to search for jobs.
That also counters a troubling trend: a key reason why the unemployment rate has dropped since last year is that many out-of-work people have stopped looking for work. Only people without jobs who are actively seeking one are counted as unemployed.
A sustained rise in the number of people looking for jobs would be a good sign, even if it pushed up the unemployment rate.
Friday's report comes as a host of data points to an improving economy and job market. Weekly applications for unemployment benefits have fallen about 14% in six months. Though they ticked up last week, average applications remain near a four-year low.
On Wednesday, payroll provider ADP said businesses added 216,000 employees last month, up from January's total. The ADP report doesn't include governments, which have been cutting jobs.
And service companies, which employ most Americans, are expanding at a faster pace, according to a private survey released this week. A gauge of employment shows that service firms are still hiring, particularly in the mining, educational services, and transportation and warehousing industries. Employers in the U.S. boosted payrolls more than forecast in February, capping the best six month streak of job growth since 2006. The jobless rate held at 8.3 percent.
The 227,000 increase in payrolls followed a revised 284,000 gain in January that was bigger than first estimated, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median projection of economists in a Bloomberg News survey called for a 210,000 rise in February employment.
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