Financial News: U.S. Employment Jumps More Than Expected, Unemployment Rat

U.S. Employment Jumps More Than Expected, Unemployment Rate Rebounds

03/10/2023 - 09:25:00 (RTTNews)

(RTTNews) - A closely watched report released by the Labor Department on Friday showed employment in the U.S. jumped by much more than expected in the month of February.

The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment shot up by 311,000 jobs in February after spiking by a revised 504,000 jobs in January.

Economists had expected employment to increase by 205,000 jobs compared to the surge of 517,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The stronger than expected job growth reflected notable increases in employment in the leisure and hospitality, retail, government, and healthcare sectors.

Meanwhile, decreases in employment in the information and transportation and warehousing sectors limited the upside.

Despite the stronger than expected job growth, the report said the unemployment rate rose to 3.6 percent in February from 3.4 percent in January. The unemployment rate was expected to be unchanged.

The unexpected increase came after the unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level since hitting a matching rate in May 1969.

The rebound by the unemployment rate came as the labor force surged by 419,000 persons, while the household survey measure of employment jumped by 177,000.

The Labor Department also said average hourly earnings crept up by $0.08 or 0.2 percent to $33.09 in February.

The annual rate of wage growth also accelerated to 4.6 percent in February from 4.4 percent in January, although the pace of growth was slower than the 4.8 percent spike expected by economists.

"The upshot is that it looks like the 25bp/50bp debate surrounding the rate hike decision later this month will come down to February's CPI report, due next Tuesday," said Paul Ashworth, Chief North America Economist at Capital Economics.

He added, "We still think the Fed will stick with a 25bp increase, but acknowledge that, after Powell's hawkish testimony this week, it's a very close call."

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

Market News provided by RTTNews

RECENT INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL NEWS

German GDP To Fall Slightly In Q1: Bundesbank (23 min(s), 43 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - The German economy is likely to fall in the first quarter but the decline will be slow ...Full Story»

Major Central Banks Try To Stem Contagion After Credit Suisse Rescue (37 min(s), 43 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - World's major central banks announced a joint effort to prevent the banking crisis ...Full Story»

UK House Prices Rise In March: Rightmove (52 min(s), 43 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - After flattening in February, UK house prices increased in March due to a jump in the ...Full Story»

Eurozone Trade Gap Narrows In January (01 hr(s), 33 min(s), 43 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Euro area trade deficit narrowed at the start of the year as the pace of fall in impor ...Full Story»

Poland Industrial Output Contracts; Producer Price Inflation At 1-Year Low (02 hr(s), 07 min(s), 43 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Poland's industrial production declined for the first time in thirty-three months ...Full Story»

Taiwan Export Orders Continue To Fall In February (03 hr(s), 31 min(s), 43 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Taiwan's export orders continued to decline in February, data released by the Mini ...Full Story»

Germany Producer Price Inflation Eases To 15.8%, Lowest Since Sep 2021 (05 hr(s), 28 min(s), 43 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Germany's producer price inflation eased for the fifth straight month in February ...Full Story»

Malaysia Trade Surplus Shrinks To MYR 19.56 Bln (06 hr(s), 55 min(s), 43 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Malaysia's trade surplus decreased slightly in February, as imports grew faster th ...Full Story»