US added 235K jobs in February, making Fed rate hike likely

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added a robust 235,000 jobs in February and raised pay at a healthy pace, making it all but certain that the Federal Reserve will raise short-term interest rates next week.

Today's jobs report from the government made clear that the economy remains on solid footing nearly eight years after the Great Recession ended.

The unemployment rate fell to a low 4.7 percent from 4.8 percent, the Labor Department said. More people began looking for jobs in February, a sign that they've grown confident about their prospects for finding work. Hiring was strong enough to absorb those new job seekers as well as some of the previously unemployed.

The gains in hiring and pay, along with better consumer and business confidence since the November election, could lift spending and investment in coming months and accelerate economic growth. Americans are buying homes at a solid pace, and manufacturing is rebounding, in part because of improving economies overseas.

"It's hard to find much to dislike in the February jobs report," said Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan Chase, said.

Investors responded by lifting stock prices, with the Dow Jones industrial average up a modest 29 points in midday trading.