March 9, 2013
NEW YORK: Job growth surged last month as auto makers, builders and retailers pushed the unemployment rate to a four-year low, defying concerns that budget battles in Washington would harm the economic expansion.
March 9, 2013
NEW YORK: Job growth surged last month as auto makers, builders and retailers pushed the unemployment rate to a four-year low, defying concerns that budget battles in Washington would harm the economic expansion.
Employment rose 2,36,000 last month after a revised 1,19,000 gain in January that was smaller than first estimated , the US Labor Department figures showed on Friday in Washington. The median forecast of 90 economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected an advance of 1,65,000. The jobless rate dropped to 7.7%, the lowest since December 2008, from 7.9%.
"It really should cause people to rethink their weak first-half growth estimates," said Drew Matus, deputy US chief economist at UBS Securities in Stamford, Connecticut, who correctly forecast the unemployment rate. "People counted out the US consumer a little too easily on the payroll-tax increases."
Stocks, the dollar and US Treasury yields all rose on signs the world's largest economy is gaining strength in the face of federal budget cuts and higher payroll taxes. The report may fuel debate among US Federal Reserve policy makers considering how long to maintain record stimulus to boost growth and employment.
Courtesy: Bloomberg
