US Economy Adds Better-Than-Expected 275,000 New Jobs, Unemployment Rate Rises

Published on March 8, 2024

The U.S. economy added a larger-than-expected 275,000 new jobs in February as the labor market continues to defy economists’ expectations of a slowing market. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the unemployment rate rose to 3.9 percent last month, up from 3.7 percent in January. This was higher than market forecasts of 3.7 percent. Average hourly earnings rose 0.1 percent monthly, below the consensus estimate of 0.3 percent. On a year-over-year basis, average hourly earnings eased to 4.3 percent. The labor force participation rate was unchanged at 62.5 percent, while average weekly hours increased to 34.3 from 34.2. Health care and the government were the top job creators last month, adding 67,000 and 52,000 new jobs, respectively. This was followed by food services and drinking places (42,000), social assistance (24,000), and construction (23,000)....

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