USA: labor market continued strong in February, 311,000 jobs were created

Businesses in the United States added 311,000 jobs in February, a substantial number that, although lower than in January, will keep pressure on the Federal Reserve for further interest rate hikes to tame inflation.

This Friday’s report from the Labor Department also reflected that the number of jobs created in January was revised downward to 504,000 from the 540,000 initially reported.

On the other hand, the unemployment rate rose to 3.6%, from a low of 3.4%, as more people looked for jobs, but not all found them.

Economists polled by Reuters said the economy needs to create 100,000 jobs a month to keep up with the growing working-age population.

However, the unexpected increase in jobs in February suggested that the January figures were not fortuitous.

This Friday’s report confirms that the US labor market remains fundamentally strong and many employers are still willing to hire.

This week, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell told Congress that the central bank would likely continue raising interest rates if signs of a robust economy and high inflation persisted.

A strong labor market generally leads to wage increases, the costs of which are passed on to customers by firms with higher prices.

Powell explained that it is possible that the Fed will raise interest rates to a higher point than initially anticipated. The Central Bank has increased rates by 450 basis points since last March, from a near zero level to the current range of 4.50% – 4.75%.

[Con información de AP y Reuters]

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