The economy added a strong 313,000 jobs in the month of February beating Wall Street expectations and fueling strong gains in the stock market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose nearly 300 points in early trading in the wake of the reports’ release.
The unemployment rate stayed the same at 4.1%, the fifth straight month it has remained at that level, and wage growth also grew at a slower-than-expected 2.6%. But the data may be an overall positive as they eased economists’ fears of an overheating economy and climbing inflation.
This is the last jobs report that will be released before the Federal Reserve Bank decides whether to raise interest rates in a few weeks. The Bank’s Federal Open Markets Committee meets later this month on March 20-21. Low interest rates have been considered to be a main factor in the economy’s strong performance in recent years.
It was the second straight strong jobs report of the year as the economy added 200,000 jobs in January and November’s and December’s totals were revised upward by an additional 24,000 jobs.
U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta applauded the report and touted the positive data as a byproduct of Trump administration policies.
“The non-stop job creation since the election has yielded 2.9 million jobs. For the fifth month in a row, the unemployment rate remained at 4.1%, a 17-year low…President Trump’s tax reform continues to boost economic confidence with more than 400 companies handing out bonuses, raises, or other benefits to more than 4 million Americans,” Acosta said in a statement.
Vice President Mike Pence also tied the positive economic news to the Administration’s economic initiatives. “GREAT NEWS! 313,000 new JOBS created in February and nearly 3 million jobs added since @POTUS was elected. A year of ACTION, a year of RESULTS!” he wrote on Twitter.