The latest report from the Bureau of Labor statistics found the U.S. economy generated 295,000 new jobs in February, while the unemployment rate ticked down a bit to 5.5 percent, from 5.7 percent in January. Average hourly earnings for all workers also rose to $24.78, up from $24.75 in January. The December 2014 jobs creation number of 329,000 was unchanged, and January 2015 was revised downward, from 257,000 to 239,000.
The February numbers actually beat out the expectations of Wall Street economists, who were anticipating 235,000 new jobs, an unemployment rate of 5.6 percent, and an increase in average hourly earnings of 0.2 percent from January. The last month job growth fell below 200,000 — roughly the threshold needed to keep up with population growth — was January of 2014. So this remains the longest stretch of sustained growth above that mark since the early 1990s.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Aitch or haitch: the linguisitic debate that 'matters a lot'Talking Point 'University Challenge' host Amol Rajan has promised to change the way he pronounces the letter 'H'
-
Today's political cartoons - April 14, 2024Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - Trump Derangement Syndrome, social media dangers, and more
-
5 rambunctious cartoons about the House speakership standoffCartoons Artists take on Mike Johnson's night terrors, the Speaker's chair, and more
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bidSpeed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detenteSpeed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe feesSpeed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
-
Reddit IPO values social media site at $6.4 billionSpeed Read The company makes its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
-
Feds cap credit card late fees at $8speed read The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to save households an estimated $10 billion a year
-
Immigration helped the US economy outpace peersspeed read The U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.2% last quarter
