The government’s monthly jobs report released Friday once again shows healthy growth in the economy, with 273,000 jobs added in February.
Another huge stat shows the unemployment rate at a record low 3.5%.
The figures beat what experts had projected, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that economists “had forecast February job growth of 175,000, an unemployment rate of 3.5% and year-over-year wage growth of 3.0%.”
Average hourly earnings increased 9 cents in February to $28.52. Wages were up 3.0% from a year earlier, remaining within the narrow range of the last year and a half, but still, a solid pace considering inflation is low.
The jobs report comes out before the bulk of the worldwide coronavirus outbreak, however, it’s uncertain how the virus will affect the U.S. economy in the month of March.