Don't count the labor market out yet. 

The U.S. economy added 311,000 jobs in February, and the unemployment rate ticked up to 3.6 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The gains were well above the consensus estimates of around 200,000 new jobs, in another sign that the labor market is stronger than many expected given recent Federal Reserve rate hikes. In January, the U.S. added a whopping half a million jobs, despite expectations of a sizable slow down in hires. 

What sectors are driving the gains? Leisure and hospitality, once again leading the charge, added 105,000 jobs, with food services and drinking places adding the lion's share. 

Retail, meanwhile, added 50,000 jobs, with general merchandise stores contributing the bulk, and government employment increased 46,000 in February. 

On the losing side, the information industry shed 25,000 jobs, and transportation and warehousing lost 22,000 jobs — the second large drop for the sector since the beginning of the year. 

Share:
More In Business
Apple Overtakes Samsung as Top Seller of Smartphones
Dan Ives, Managing Director and Senior Equity Analyst at Wedbush Securities dives deeper into a report by the International Data Corporation (IDC) that Apple has ended Samsung's 12-year reign as the world's largest smartphone seller.
AI is the Big Opportunity and the Risk to Watch at Davos
Artificial intelligence is the biggest buzzword at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos. Advances in generative AI stunned the world last year, and the elite crowd is angling to take advantage of its promise and minimize its risks.
A Smarter Smart Phone?
Smartphones could get much smarter this year as the next wave of artificial intelligence seeps into the devices that accompany people almost everywhere they go.
Who Could Be The World's First Trillionaire?
In an annual assessment of global inequalities, Oxfam International said the first trillionaire could emerge within the next decade — as the anti-poverty organization pointed to the growing wealth gap that skyrocketed globally during the pandemic.
Load More