It Is Morning In America, Time To Go To Work

Put the pot of coffee on America. It's morning on the jobs front.

For the month of February, America added 192,000 jobs, well above the 185,000 jobs economists were looking for. In addition to the February print, December and January were revised up for a net gain of 58,000 jobs.

The jobs report was released today. Thompson Reuters expected 185,000 jobs to be added in the U.S., versus the 36,000 for the prior month (January's jobs numbers were particularly weak due to poor weather across the U.S.) Yesterday, the markets closed from their largest one-day gain in over three months. The Dow added 191 points, the S&P gained 20 points, and the Nasdaq jumped 50 points.

Saxo Bank predicted that 230,000 jobs would be added, representing one of the most bullish estimates on the Street.

Manufacturing payrolls jumped up 33,000 jobs, versus the expected rise of 25,000. Private payrolls rose 222,000 jobs, versus the estimates of 190,000 jobs. The unemployment rate was 8.9%, from the expected 9.1%. This is lower than the 9% we saw in January's jobs report.

Average hourly earnings were flat, versus the estimates of 0.2%. January's earnings rose 0.4%. The average hourly work week rose to hours, versus the 34.3 estimate. January's average work week was 34.2 hours.

Futures are surging on the report. Dow futures are up 43 points, S&P 500 futures are better by 4 points, and Nasdaq futures are higher by 5.5 points.

For a full look at the report, please visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics website.

Posted In: NewsEcon #sBureau of LaborJobs Report
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