The economy again beat expectations in February and added 275,000 jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, a sign the labor market is retaining momentum early in the year.
The unemployment rate rose to 3.9%. Notably, the unemployment rate remains low by historical standards.
The job growth is boost for the White House, which has been working to credit President Joe Biden for the strong job creation over the past year, characterizing the underlying strength of the labor market and broader economy as “Bidenomics” in action.
Job gains have been much larger than expected to end 2023 and begin 2024, given the headwinds imposed by the Fed’s aggressive tightening cycle in response to the inflation that has roiled households over the past few years. Since the central bank began hiking in March 2022, annual inflation, as tracked by the consumer price index, has fallen
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