US job creation hits new record in February, but unemployment hits highest level in two years Economy

US job creation in February exceeded all analysts’ expectations, pointing to a gain of 190,000 jobs, well below the surprise record figure in January. Ultimately 275,000, while salary increases were moderated. All this adds up to signs of sustained economic growth and mild inflation. The data reflects the strength of the US economy and signals to the Federal Reserve about a rate cut program. Unemployment rose to 3.9% last month, its highest level in two years. The sectors that created the most jobs were health, public administration, restaurants, social assistance, transportation and logistics.

Unemployment rate is highest in two years, but hiring strength points to a cold labor market – wage growth has been slow – but resilient. Data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics describe a labor market that is gradually shrinking, with an episodic recession recorded in October, and with more moderate growth in employment and wages that suggests the economy is on course for a spike. Will continue to expand without risk. In inflation. The combination gives Federal Reserve policymakers room to lower interest rates this year, although its Chairman Jerome Powell avoided giving a specific date in his appearance in Congress this week.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite jumped after the numbers were announced, but they were already slightly higher in pre-market trading, suggesting investors were worried about the Federal Reserve’s plans to dramatically cut rates in the jobs numbers. Not worried about. The yield on two-year Treasury bonds, which are more sensitive to imminent monetary policy movements, fell six basis points to 4.44%. The dollar fell.

In February, the unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 3.9% and the number of unemployed rose by 334,000 people to 6.5 million. A year ago the unemployment rate was 3.6% and the number of unemployed was six million. Among the main groups of workers, unemployment rates increased for adult women (3.5%) and adolescents (12.5%). The unemployment rates for adult males (3.5%), whites (3.4%), blacks (5.6%), Asians (3.4%) and Hispanics (5.0%) were barely unchanged in February.

One possible reason for the slight jump in the unemployment rate since the beginning of the year could be an increase in the number of black and Hispanic workers looking for work and not finding it. White unemployment remains at about 3.4%, while black and Hispanic unemployment have both increased by about a percentage point from their historic lows this cycle.

The metrics for calculating job creation are different from the metrics for unemployment. Payroll and wage data come from surveys of companies and other employers, while unemployment data come from a small survey of households. This latest survey shows that one reason for the increase in the unemployment rate is that people entering the workforce are not immediately able to find work.

The number of long-term unemployed (those who have been out of work for 27 weeks or longer), 1.2 million, barely changed in February. The number of long-term unemployed is 18.7% of the total unemployed, compared to 20.8% a year ago. It appears that, even if laid-off workers don’t quickly find another job, there are still relatively few people signing up for unemployment for months. In the summer of 2011, following the Great Recession, nearly one in two workers was long-term unemployed.

In February, the activity rate stood at 62.5% for the third consecutive month, and the employment-population ratio barely changed, remaining at 60.1%. There was no significant change throughout the year.

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