Although down from January’s 500,000 job gains, February remained strong with an addition of 311,000 jobs, according to the Labor Department, reports The New York Times. This both creates opportunities for job seekers and makes it difficult for the Federal Reserve to contain inflation.
“It was a good jobs report,” said Kristina Hooper, chief global markets strategist at Invesco. “Yes we got robust jobs growth which is not what the Fed wants but for those of us that want to see the economy remain in good shape that was good news.”
The unemployment rate between January and February dipped slightly, increasing by 0.2 percent to 3.6 percent overall, a low rate caused by workers’ gradual return to the labor force post-pandemic.
Recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data found that the labor force participation rate, a measure of how many people are working or looking actively for work, increased by 0.1 percent in February, to 62.5 percent. This supports a theory shared by some economists that recent wage increases could attract more to the labor market.
Treasure secretary Janet Yellen said at a House hearing today, “What we’re seeing here is a continued very strong labor market, putting Americans back to work.” Full Story (Subscription Required)
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