Economy Gained 242000 Jobs In February; Unemployment Rate Holds Steady

The headline unemployment rate was 4.9%, the lowest level in eight years.

U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez and Commerce Secretary Anne Pritzker listen as President Barack Obama delivers remarks on the domestic economy in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Friday.

"It's clear that labor market conditions are still strong", said Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics. The tangible improvement in the economy will surely help ease fears over a potential new USA recession that arose in recent weeks.

In February, job gains were nearly broad-based, though manufacturing and mining employment fell.

The Department of Labor revised its December as well as January figures adding another 30,000 jobs collectively over the two months. He says, "Neither global headwinds, financial turbulence nor political uncertainty" has weakened the willingness of American businesses to hire.

There has been a lot of concern that the US economy might get dragged down by the rest of the world.

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The employment report added to data such as consumer and business spending in suggesting the economy had regained momentum after growth slowed to a 1.0 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter. That the employment rate didn't move even though participation went up is a particularly encouraging sign; it means that on the whole, those who started looking for jobs typically found them.

Oil prices might still be the cause of ulcers, but it is the producers feeling today's pain due to the prices being so low.

However, traders of futures linked to the Fed's benchmark policy rate are thinking longer term. "There weren't actually mass firings of college professors that we're aware of", said Ted Wieseman, an economist at Morgan Stanley in NY. However, more Americans were able to enter the workforce last month. Leisure and hospitality jobs rose 48,000, with employment at restaurants and bars increasing by 40,200. Job losses continued in mining as the slump in commodity prices hurt the sector. The private sector added 172,000 jobs in January. As unemployment has dropped, more companies have begun to raise pay to attract workers, thereby fueling more hiring as people's ability to spend, invest and save has increased.

Worker pay did slip after having picked up in January. The average hourly earnings for all employees in the private sector fell by three cents to $25.35. Earnings actually fell slightly between January and February in a sign that an expected liftoff in incomes has yet to be achieved.

Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a 195,000 increase in new nonfarm jobs.

The report comes as Democrat presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton prepares to unveil her plans to spur jobs and wages growth in a speech in Detroit, still one of the most economically troubled cities in the country despite the widespread jobs recovery.