Friday, March 7, 2014

February Unemployment Ticks Up To 6.7%, Year Over Year Job Growth Slows 2.5% Compared To All Of 2013

The BLS reports here:

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 175,000 in February, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 6.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment increased in professional and business services and in wholesale trade but declined in information.

Both the number of unemployed persons (10.5 million) and the unemployment rate (6.7 percent) changed little in February. The jobless rate has shown little movement since December. Over the year, the number of unemployed persons and the unemployment rate were down by 1.6 million and 1.0 percentage point, respectively. ...

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 175,000 in February. Job growth averaged 189,000 per month over the prior 12 months. In February, job gains occurred in professional and business services and in wholesale trade, while information lost jobs.

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The poor job growth in January of 113,000 was revised up a paltry amount, to 129,000. 2013 job growth averaged 194,000 per month and year over year in February is down 2.5% compared to that.