Job Growth Soars; Jobless Rate Unchanged
The nation added 227,000 jobs in February, propped up by gains in a broad range of industries, especially services, health care, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced this morning.
The U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged for the month, at 8.3 percent, which represents about 12.8 million people. The jobless rate has steadily fallen from 9 percent in February 2011, when about 13.7 million were out of work.
The White House was pleased with the report. "Today's employment report provides further evidence that the economy is continuing to heal from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression," Alan Krueger, chairman of the president's Council of Economic Advisers, said in a blog post on the White House website.
Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, however, wasn't as pleased. "We can do better," the Republican said in a statement. "Too many good ideas that would boost our economy are stalled in Washington. We must work in a bipartisan way on jobs bills ... so that small businesses are free to raise the capital they need to grow and hire again."
Stocks reacted positively in early trading today. Within an hour after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial and Standard & Poor's 500 averages were each up about 0.25 percent.
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