10 things you need to know today: March 9, 2013

Venezuela mourns Hugo Chavez, the papal election process begins, and more in our roundup of the stories that are making news and driving opinion

A woman hold a portrait of the late President Hugo Chavez during a ceremony at the Bolivar square, in Barinas, March 8.
(Image credit: AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

1. UNEMPLOYMENT AT LOWEST LEVEL SINCE 2008

The Labor Department on Friday reported that the economy added 236,000 jobs in February, bringing the unemployment rate to 7.7 percent, down from 7.9 percent in January. The jobless rate is now at its lowest level since December 2008 — before Barack Obama was sworn in for his first term as president. The report was almost uniformly positive, greatly outpaced analysts' expectations, and bolstered optimism that the labor market could finally escape the years-long pattern of plodding improvement that has so far characterized the economic recovery. "It's an outstanding report," says TD Bank Group economist Craig Alexander. "Not only are the headlines good but the details are good as well." [The Week]

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Samantha Rollins

Samantha Rollins is TheWeek.com's news editor. She has previously worked for The New York Times and TIME and is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.