The February jobs report is out, and it's way better than economists expected: The unemployment rate dropped to 7.7% from January's 7.9%; economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires had expected it to drop to 7.8%. That's the lowest rate since December 2008. And the economy added 236,000 jobs; those economists expected 160,000. The Wall Street Journal notes that while 2012 saw an average of 183,000 new jobs created per month, the last four months have seen a monthly average of 205,000. "The trend is our friend," it quips.
One less positive note from the report: January's new jobs, initially reported as 157,000, were adjusted to 119,000. But December's numbers were adjusted in the other direction, to 219,000 from an initial report of 196,000.
Source: Newser
One less positive note from the report: January's new jobs, initially reported as 157,000, were adjusted to 119,000. But December's numbers were adjusted in the other direction, to 219,000 from an initial report of 196,000.
Source: Newser