February Job Growth Was a Lot Stronger Than Expected

[McFurd]

Fortune - 3/10/2017 - Annalyn Kurtz - The job market is still going strong, but don’t take our word for it. The Department of Labor’s latest jobs report, released Friday, shows that firms are not only hiring at a strong pace—wages are rising as well. Employers added 235,000 jobs in February, higher than the 200,000 jobs economists were expecting. The unemployment rate, was 4.7%, little changed from a month earlier. Meanwhile, wages rose 2.8% over last year. One of the stunning pockets of strength came from goods-producing jobs, which increased by 95,000 in February–the most since March 2000. Part of that hiring boom could be related to milder than usual winter weather. Construction firms added 58,000 jobs and manufacturers added 28,000 jobs in February. The average American worker labored for 34.4 hours a week and earned $26.09 per hour in February. President Donald Trump has called for tax cuts and infrastructure spending to boost the economy, but it’s far too soon to attribute strength in the job market to any of his policies – most of which have yet to be enacted. That said, it is crystal clear that at least some investors, consumers and businesses have become more optimistic about the economy since election day. Read more @ http://fortune.com/2017/03/10/february- ... mployment/