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WASHINGTON (AP) — Economies around the world are slowing, and financial markets have taken some hits, but it looks like the U.S. economy is surviving all of the turmoil. The government says employers added more than 240,000 workers last month, and the jobless rate held steady at 4.9 percent.
Worker pay did slip after having picked up in January. But more Americans who had been sitting on the sidelines began searching for jobs and found them.
Economist Sal Guatieri of BMO Capital Markets says it's a "solid jobs report" that should ease fears of another recession. He says, "Neither global headwinds, financial turbulence nor political uncertainty" has weakened the willingness of American businesses to hire.
Some economists also suggested that the jobs report created a path for the Fed to raise interest rates again as early as June. The Fed raised rates from record lows in December. Kevin Logan of the bank HSBC says there's "probably a better than 50 percent" chance that rates will go up in June.
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155-w-36-(Diane Kepley, AP correspondent, with Gus Faucher, senior economist, PNC FInancial)--The jobs report for February is stronger than expected. AP correspondent Diane Kepley reports. (4 Mar 2016)
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159-a-15-(Stuart Hoffman, chief economist, PNC Financial, in AP interview)-"to that yet"-Economist Stuart Hoffman says it's unlikely that today's report will prompt the Fed to change interest rates when it meets later this month. (4 Mar 2016)
<<CUT *159 (03/04/16)££ 00:15 "to that yet"
158-a-11-(Gus Faucher (foh-SHAY'), senior economist, PNC Financial, in AP interview)-"expect to see it"-Economist Gus Faucher says the number that's known as the under-employment rate is still slightly higher than pre-recession levels. (4 Mar 2016)
<<CUT *158 (03/04/16)££ 00:11 "expect to see it"
APPHOTO NY109: FILE - In this Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015, file photo, a "Help Wanted" sign hangs in a store window in New York. U.S. employers added a robust 242,000 workers in February 2016 as retailers, restaurants and health care providers drove another solid month for the resilient American job market. The Labor Department says the unemployment rate held steady at 4.9 percent. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File) (1 Oct 2015)
<<APPHOTO NY109 (10/01/15)££
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