Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 678,000 in February, and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.8 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job growth was widespread, led by gains in leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, health care, and construction. This news release presents statistics from two monthly surveys. The household survey measures labor force status, including unemployment, by demographic characteristics. The establishment survey measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. For more information about the concepts and statistical ... (full story)

Robust U.S. hiring momentum carried on in February and wage growth slowed, adding to inflationary pressures that are already dogging the economy and putting the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates this month. Nonfarm payrolls increased 678,000 last month after an upwardly revised 481,000 gain in January, a Labor Department report showed Friday. The advance was broad-based across sectors. The unemployment rate edged down to 3.8%, and average hourly earnings were unchanged from the prior month. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 423,000 advance in payrolls and for the ... (full story)