Jobs Report: 242,000 Jobs Added In February, Unemployment Rate Steady At 4.9%

The latest labor market reckoning out from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Friday showed stronger than anticipated job growth and signs that discouraged workers are not only jumping back in the game but also finding work quickly when they do. Wages proved a weak point in February, but most economists don’t yet see the dip as cause for concern. 
The new data shows employers in the United States adding 242,000 jobs last month. The BLS report also shows the unemployment rate at 4.9%, maintaining the eight-year low it first hit in January. Economists had been calling for around 200,000 payroll additions in February and for the unemployment rate remain steady.
Revisions to payroll counts from December and January were also net positive. The gain for January, first recorded at a light 151,000, was revised up to 172,000. Meanwhile the December count was revised higher to plus 271,000 from the most recent reading of 262,000. Net total job gains in December and January were therefore 30,000 higher than what BLS previously reported. Monthly job gains over the past three months have averaged 228,000.


“Today’s jobs report revealed strong gains for the U.S. workforce, but more importantly, the data shows there’s room for this labor market to grow,” noted Tara Sinclair, chief economist for job site Indeed, in comments emailed following the report. “Employers added a robust 242,000 jobs, but with essentially zero wage gains amid strong demand. In this environment, there’s definitely potential to bring more people off the sidelines if wages increase more.”
Average hourly earnings down by 3 cents in February to $25.35, after gaining 12 cents in January. While the labor force participation rate was 62.9%, up from 62.7% last month. Since September the measure has increased by 0.5%, as has the employment-population ratio, which now stands at 59.8%.
At the end of February 7.8 million Americans were unemployed, the same number as in January but down 831,000 year-over-year. In February there were 599,000 discouraged workers — people not currently looking for work because they don’t believe jobs are available for them and therefore are not considered unemployed — which is down by 133,000 from a year earlier.
Thee U-6 rate, which measures under-employment, came in at 9.7% in February down from 9.9% January and from 11% a year ago.
Investors, at first glance, took the data as good news, maintaining positive stock momentum from earlier in the morning and week. Futures pointed higher Friday morning with the S&P 500 Index, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite each up between 0.4% and 0.6% in the first moments after the 8:30 a.m. release.