February jobs report: Payrolls rise by 678,000 as unemployment rate falls to 3.8%
The U.S. economy added back the most jobs since July 2021 in February, with job growth accelerating even in the already-tight labor market as new Omicron cases from earlier this year came down.
The Labor Department released its February jobs report Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET. Here were the main metrics from the print, compared to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg:
Non-farm payrolls: +678,000 vs. +423,000 expected and an upwardly revised +481,000 in January
Unemployment rate: 3.8% vs. 3.9% expected, 4.0% in January
Average hourly earnings, month-over-month: 0.0% vs. 0.5% expected and a downwardly revised 0.6% in January
Average hourly earnings, year-over-year: 5.1% vs. 5.8% expected and a downwardly revised 5.5% in January
Bron: Yahoo Fianance