US nonfarm payroll growth beat expectations

Nonfarm payrolls in the US rose more than expected in February, reinforcing the possibility that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will raise interest rates for a longer period of time.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 311,000 in February. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast nonfarm employment to rise by 205,000 in February.

The data, which was announced at 517,000 for January, was renewed at 504,000.​ ​ ​

Labor force participation increased from 62.4 percent to 62.5 percent in February.

AVERAGE HOURLY WAGE DECREASES IN FEBRUARY

The US Department of Labor announced that the unemployment rate rose to 3.6 percent in February. Last month, the unemployment rate was announced at 3.4 percent.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the jobless rate to hold at 3.4 percent.

Average hourly wages in the US decreased 0.2 percent in February. Expectations were that hourly wages would rise 0.3 percent.

The annual increase in average hourly wages increased to 4.6 percent from 4.4 percent in the previous month. (Reuters)