watch
now
The
U.S.
labor
market
showed
continuing
strength
in
February
through
broad
job
creation
of
275,000,
with
one
sector
leading
the
charge.
Health
care
and
social
assistance
saw
the
largest
hiring
gains
of
90,700
jobs,
according
to
the
Bureau
of
Labor
Statistics.
The
sector
got
a
boost
from
sharp
gains
in
hospital
and
ambulatory
health-care
services,
which
added
28,000
and
27,700
jobs,
respectively.
Leisure
and
hospitality
also
saw
robust
growth,
adding
58,000
jobs.
The
BLS
highlighted
job
gains
in
food
services
and
drinking
places,
which
increased
by
about
42,000
in
February
after
three
months
of
little
change.
Transportation
and
warehouse
employment
rose
by
19,700
jobs.
Couriers
and
messengers
accounted
for
17,000
new
jobs
after
declining
by
70,000
jobs
in
the
prior
three
months.
Meanwhile,
manufacturing
jobs
dropped
by
4,000.
Transportation
equipment
and
computer
and
electronics
manufacturing
led
the
broader
sector’s
job
losses
with
declines
of
1,900
and
1,700,
respectively.
Julia
Pollak,
chief
economist
at
ZipRecruiter,
said
the
strong
year-over-year
wage
growth
number
was
a
positive
spot
in
the
report.
“That
strong
wage
growth
number,
while
it’s
good
news
for
workers,
isn’t
necessarily
bad
news
for
employers
—or
for
inflation
—because
productivity
growth
has
been
so
strong,
so
it
actually
may
be
sustainable,”
Pollak
said.
However,
the
economist
added
that
the
continued
fall
in
manufacturing
employment
despite
heavy
federal
investment
in
the
sector
remains
a
puzzle.
Declines
in
tech-related
sub-industries
such
as
software
publishers,
computer
systems
and
other
groups
also
“suggest
that
the
‘tech-session’
is
still
not
behind
us
despite
this
huge
rally
in
the
stock
market,”
said
Pollak.
