U.S. employers went on a hiring binge in February, adding 313,000 jobs. This is the most since July 2016. Average wages rose 2.6 percent over the past 12 months. An influx of new job seekers in February kept the unemployment rate unchanged at a low 4.1 percent.
Last month’s hiring surge might have reflected, in part, confidence among some businesses that the Trump administration’s tax cuts will accelerate consumer and business spending. Consumer optimism jumped to its highest level since 2000 last month, likely reflecting higher after-tax incomes resulting from the tax cuts.
The consistently strong pace of hiring has led many more people who had been on the sidelines to start looking for work. Most of those new job seekers found work in February, leaving the number of unemployed little changed. The proportion of adults who either have a job or are looking for one rose to 63 percent from 62.7 percent.
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