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.
Jayesh Govindarajan, head of A.I. at Salesforce, explains the company's new Einstein copilot, plus other ways it is investing in artificial intelligence.
Altro founder and CEO Michael Broughton shares how his company is bringing both expanded credit access and financial wellness to underserved consumers, plus netting early investments from Tinashe, Quavo, and Jay Z’s Marcy Ventures.
Portillo’s CEO Michael Osanloo discusses the company’s decades of profitability, opening restaurants in new markets, and why it doesn’t need trends like dynamic pricing.
Adam Turnquist, Chief Technical Strategist for LPL Financial, weighs in on the latest CPI data, what could get the Fed to lower borrowing costs, and the crypto rally.