"Progress in the labour market is unmistakable. The economy is producing more than twice as many jobs as it did at the low point in the second quarter of last year"
- Joseph Trevisani, chief market strategist at Worldwidemarkets
Job creation in the U.S. broke out in February, pushing the overall unemployment rate to the four-year low, a sign U.S. employers were undaunted by the budget impasse in Washington. According to the Labor Department, the U.S. economy created 236,000 new jobs, while private job creation stood at a robust 246,000, indicating that the world's largest economy may be ready to escape the tight growth range in which it has been held since the financial crisis. In the meantime, the unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 7.7%, down from 7.9% in the previous month. The stable improvement of the labour market is increasing chances that the Fed may finish its quantitative easing programme earlier than previously announced.
"The labour market looks pretty solid," said Drew Matus, deputy U.S. chief economist at UBS Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut, who correctly forecast the unemployment rate. "In most areas, there was a pretty healthy rate of improvement. The Fed is going to be happy to see these numbers."
"Progress in the labour market is unmistakable. The economy is producing more than twice as many jobs as it did at the low point in the second quarter of last year," said Joseph Trevisani, chief market strategist at Worldwidemarkets.
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