U.S. employers added 313,000 non-farm jobs in February, exceeding expectations and marking the biggest gain since mid-2016. Economists polled by MarketWatch had predicted an increase of 222,000 jobs. January's gains were adjusted up to 239,000 from 200,000. Unemployment remained at 4.1 percent, and hourly pay rose by 4 cents to $26.75. The 12-month wage gain fell from 2.8 percent in January to 2.6 percent in February. The slowdown in wage growth pointed to a gradual increase in inflation, suggesting little reason to adjust expectations that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates at its next two-day policy meeting, which starts March 20.
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.
-
Denmark scraps letters and its iconic red postboxesUnder the Radar Danish posties say ‘farvel’ to 400 years of tradition but can Royal Mail weather the storm?
-
What role will Trump play in the battle over Warner Bros. Discovery?Today’s Big Question Netflix and Paramount fight for the president’s approval
-
‘The menu’s other highlights smack of the surreal’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
US mints final penny after 232-year runSpeed Read Production of the one-cent coin has ended
-
Warner Bros. explores sale amid Paramount bidsSpeed Read The media giant, home to HBO and DC Studios, has received interest from multiple buying parties
-
Gold tops $4K per ounce, signaling financial uneaseSpeed Read Investors are worried about President Donald Trump’s trade war
-
Electronic Arts to go private in record $55B dealspeed read The video game giant is behind ‘The Sims’ and ‘Madden NFL’
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fineSpeed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in IntelSpeed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to ChinaSpeed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
How is Trump's economy doing?Talking Points The latest jobs numbers suggest a slowdown in the offing
