February Labor Report Exceeds Expectations

U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by a better-than-expected 243,000 in February. The jobless rate increased slightly to 4.8% in February, from a five-year low of 4.7% in January, the Labor Department reported. The number of unemployed people rose by 153,000 to 7.2 million.

Service-producing industries added 198,000 jobs, including 47,000 in education and health services and 39,000 in professional and business services. Retail added 7,000 jobs.