February jobs rose a surprisingly strong 678,000, unemployment edged lower while wages were flat
Nonfarm payrolls for the month grew by 678,000 and the unemployment rate was 3.8%, the Labor Department reported Friday.
Nonfarm payrolls for the month grew by 678,000 and the unemployment rate was 3.8%, the Labor Department reported Friday.
Mortgage demand fell last week as rates rose, but that may all change this week as rates drop again, and sharply.
Companies added 475,000 positions for the month, better than the Dow Jones estimate for 400,000.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell still sees rate hikes coming but noted that the Russia-Ukraine war has injected uncertainty into the outlook.
Initial claims for unemployment insurance totaled 215,000, the lowest total since the beginning of the year.
A key inflation measure showed that prices rose at their fastest level in nearly 39 years, the Commerce Department reported Friday.
Weekly jobless claims came in slightly less than expected last week and economic growth to end 2021 was slightly better than originally reported.
St. Louis Fed President James Bullard cautioned that without action on interest rates, inflation could become an even more serious problem.
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