Economists polled by the Bloomberg news agency had expected an increase of 225,000 jobs in February. In January, the number of US jobs increased by 504,000, according to the new US government report on the job market.
Also listen | How a jobs report dazzles investors’ hopes
Unemployment rose to 3.6%. A month earlier, 3.4% of the American workforce was still out of paid work. Economists expected this percentage to stay the same.
The working population can grow if more people become available for work. As a result, unemployment may also increase, while the number of jobs also increases.
Foreshadow the Fed’s interest rate policy
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics employment report always gets a lot of attention in the financial markets because it can say something about the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy. In the latest report, investors are mostly seeing indications that the Fed will hike interest rates less sharply than previously feared.