U.S. Adds 275,000 Jobs in February but unemployment rate rises to 3.9%

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, in February, job creation in the U.S. exceeded expectations, indicating ongoing strength in the labor market, despite a rise in the unemployment rate.

The nonfarm payrolls saw a robust increase of 275,000 jobs during the month, surpassing economists’ projections of 198,000. However, the unemployment rate edged higher to 3.9%, a development that came alongside downward revisions to previous months’ job gains. January’s payroll growth was revised down to 229,000 from 333,000, while December’s figure was adjusted to 290,000 from 333,000.

Despite the uptick in unemployment, the labor force participation rate remained unchanged at 62.5%, suggesting a stable level of engagement in the workforce.

On the wage front, average hourly earnings, a key inflation gauge, recorded a slightly lower-than-expected increase for the month. Wages ticked up by just 0.1% from the previous month, falling short of the estimated rise. Year-over-year, wages were up by 4.3%, a moderate deceleration from the 4.5% gain seen in January and slightly below economists’ forecasts of 4.4%.

These figures provide important insights into the health of the U.S. economy and will be closely monitored by policymakers and investors in the coming months.

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