U.S. posts stronger job growth in February, but wages lag

The February numbers could reassure investors about economy amid jitters

By CHICO HARLAN Washington Post

WASHINGTON – U.S. employers continued their rapid hiring in February, new government data revealed Friday, a sign of the nation's economic durability during a tumultuous global slowdown.

The U.S. added 242,000 jobs as the unemployment rate held at 4.9 percent, the lowest mark during the seven-year recovery from the Great Recession.

That pace, consistent with gains over the past year, indicates that Americans are returning rapidly to the labor force, helped by steady consumer spending that is bolstering demand and prompting employers to expand their workforces. In data released Friday by the Labor Department, sluggish wages provided the only disappointing note — a signal that the labor market has room to improve.

Although stock markets from New York to Shanghai have signaled alarm bells about the stability of the global economy — particularly amid a period of volatile oil prices and diminished demand in China — the U.S. performance of late is likely to boost confidence among investors.

"The financial markets' panic over a possible recession in the U.S. has been misplaced, if the string of jobs reports are any indication," said Mark Hamrick, a senior economic analyst at Bankrate.com.

In remarks Friday, President Obama highlighted the economy's performance and said U.S. businesses were "creating jobs at the fastest pace since the 1990s."

February's increase beat the expectations of economists, who had predicted that 191,000 jobs were created for the month. Stock markets showed modest gains on the news.

The United States has posted 65 consecutive months of jobs gains; in all but eight of those months, payrolls have exceeded 100,000, the total necessary to keep pace with population growth. In that span, the unemployment rate has fallen from 9.5 percent.

But the true gains have been questioned on the campaign trail, and several Republican candidates have found support by voicing anger about the state of the economy, particularly given years of wage stagnation and a steady outflow of manufacturing jobs. Obama on Friday made a pitch to ignore the "doomsday rhetoric" about "how terrible America is."

"The American people should be proud of what they have achieved," he said, "because this speaks to their resilience, innovation, creativity, risk-taking and grit."

Economists said that wage data can be volatile from month to month. In January, wages showed their greatest monthly spike in a year. Taking February's decline into account, wages for Americans have risen 2.2 percent over the past 12 months, just a tick above the pace maintained throughout the recovery. The number suggests that a degree of slack remains, but the labor market is also tightening.

A separate survey of households showed the nation's job force grew by more than half a million people, a sign that improving conditions are drawing in those who had previously been on the sidelines. After hitting a low point in September, the labor force participation rate — the share of people holding jobs or seeking them — has bounced up half a percentage point, to 62.9 percent.

The participation rate has been pulled downward to historical lows in part because of a wave of baby boomer retirements. But, to the bafflement of some analysts, middle-aged workers were also exiting. Those workers have started to re-enter the past half-year.

"There was this big question: Are those workers ever going to come back? Now it looks like we're seeing it," said Harry Holzer, a Georgetown University professor and author of "Where Are All the Good Jobs Going?" "And it's been going on consistently since October. So it doesn't look like a blip anymore."

February job growth was strong in the education and health services sector, with monthly gains at their highest level since 2004. But the mining industry continued to shed jobs, a response to the protracted period of low oil and natural-gas prices. Employment in the industry decreased by 19,000 in February; over the past year, 140,000 jobs have been lost.