February Labor Report Trends Up

Employment continued to trend up in February, with a gain of 97,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate for the month, at 4.5 percent, was essentially unchanged, the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Employment grew in some service-providing industries but declined sharply in construction. Manufacturing employment continued to trend downward. Average hourly earnings rose by 6 cents, or 0.4 percent, over the month. The jobless rate has remained within a narrow range – 4.4 to 4.6 percent – since September 2006.

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