Employment Research Brief

Job growth continues at generally swift pace. Employers added a net 311,000 personnel to payrolls in February, down from January’s robust 504,000-position gain, but still above the long-term monthly average. Hiring was likely aided by an expansion to the labor pool last month, leading to a 10-basis-point uptick in the unemployment rate to 3.6 percent. Despite this slight increase to unemployment and a slowdown in job growth, the labor market is still showing remarkable strength, with multiple sectors continuing to demand additional labor.