Employment held steady in February (+22,000; +0.1%), and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.0%. Employment grew in health care and social assistance (+15,000; +0.6%), public administration (+10,000; +0.9%), and utilities (+7,500; +5.0%). At the same time, fewer people worked in business, building and other support services (-11,000; -1.5%). There was little change in employment among core-aged adults (25 to 54 years old) and youth (15 to 24 years old). Employment among those aged 55 to 64 rose by 25,000 (+0.7%) in February, continuing a strong upward trend since August 2022. The number of employees grew in the ... (full story)

• Prior month 150K. In December jobs rose 69K • Employment gain for February 21.8K vs 10.0K estimate • unemployment rate 5.0% vs 5.1% expected • full-time employment 31.1K vs 121.1K last month • part-time employment -9.3K vs 28.9K last month • Participation rate 65.7% versus 65.7% expected • average hourly wages permanent employees 5.4% versus 4.5% last month • The number of employees grew in the private sector (+39,000; +0.3%), while there was little change in public sector • • employment and in the number of self-employed. • Total hours worked rose 0.6% in February and were up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. The ... (full story)