Unemployment rate falls slightly as U.S. adds 273,000 jobs in February

America's coronavirus outbreak hasn't hurt its job market just yet.

The U.S. economy beat expectations to add 273,000 jobs in February, even as COVID-19 raised concerns of an economic slowdown. The stock market saw a massive decline at the end of the month, but the unemployment rate still fell slightly from 3.6 to 3.5 percent, the Labor Department reported Friday.

That unemployment rate is the lowest the U.S. has seen in 50 years, CNBC notes. But including people not looking for work and those with part-time jobs looking for full-time grew a bit to 7 percent. The health care, restaurant, and construction industries, as well as government hiring, boosted the job gains.

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February may mark the last glimpse of a growing economy for awhile, seeing as most of the month wasn't spent in the grips of COVID-19 fear. The Federal Reserve Board had recently taken emergency action to calm the economy, but it didn't stop the stock market from zig-zagging throughout the past week.