Hiring in the United States jumped in February as employers added 273,000 positions, evidence that the job market was in strong shape before the coronavirus began to sweep through the nation. The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate fell to 3.5% last month, matching a 50-year low, down from 3.6% in January. The monthly job gain comes from a survey of payrolls done in the second week of February, predating the viral outbreak. Still, many economists were encouraged by the message that the jobs report sent about the economy’s health before the disease. “The U.S. economy clearly approached the COVID-19 ... (full story)