Following two months of dismal growth, the February jobs report suggests an improving labor landscape. But despite the numbers, the employment picture remains cloudy at best.
The Labor Department reported today (Friday) that employers added 175,000 jobs last month, beating expectations of 150,000. Yet the February figure is still well below the 280,000 jobs created in the same month a year ago.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate ticked up to 6.7% from the five-year low of 6.6% hit in January, as more people entered the workforce and failed to find work. Economists were expecting the rate to remain stable at 6.6%.
Economists were anticipating slow job creation due to the harsh winter weather that blanketed much of the country in February. Ice and snow are frequently responsible for flight cancellations and business closings, and bitter cold can also keep consumers inside, pressuring retail hiring.
Indeed, a total of 6.9 million full-time workers reported having hours temporarily reduced due to February's brutal weather.
Friday's jobs report may be better than the last two - but it's still far from good.
"It's just a steady-as-she-goes recovery." Justin Wolfers, senior fellow at the nonprofit think tank the Brookings Institution, wrote on Twitter. "Not fast enough, but not easy to derail."
Following are highlights from the Labor Department's report.
Should job growth continue to pick up the pace in coming months, there'll be no reason for the U.S. Federal Reserve to pause on trimming its assets purchases. However, the direction of interest rates is less straightforward.
The Fed started weaning the economy off its stimulus measures in December by reducing monthly bond purchases by $10 billion each time it meets. An improved labor market was a main reason cited for the taper.
Amid a spate of soft economic data, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said late last month in a testimony before the Senate Banking Committee that the central bank would reconsider the strategy if warranted.
And while Yellen also reiterated the 6.5% jobless rate threshold at which the central bank would consider raising interest rates, Fed officials have de-emphasized the jobless rate.
Minutes from the Fed's last meeting show the Federal Open Market Committee challenged "the reliability of the unemployment rate as an indicator of overall labor-market conditions."
Most economists don't expect a rate hike until at least mid-2105.
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