Unemployment Rate Falls to Lowest Level Since 2008
By: CNN
Updated: March 8, 2013
Hiring picked up in February, helping to bring the unemployment rate down to its lowest level since December 2008.
The U.S. economy added 236,000 jobs in February, according to a Labor Department report released Friday. That's much stronger growth than in January, when employers hired a revised 119,000 workers.
The gains were broad-based as offices, restaurants, construction firms and hospitals all added jobs.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate dipped to 7.7%, as 12 million workers were counted as unemployed.
The drop was partly because more people said they got jobs, but also because 130,000 people dropped out of the labor force.
The increase in jobs and decrease in the unemployment rate were better than expected.
The U.S. economy added 236,000 jobs in February, according to a Labor Department report released Friday. That's much stronger growth than in January, when employers hired a revised 119,000 workers.
The gains were broad-based as offices, restaurants, construction firms and hospitals all added jobs.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate dipped to 7.7%, as 12 million workers were counted as unemployed.
The drop was partly because more people said they got jobs, but also because 130,000 people dropped out of the labor force.
The increase in jobs and decrease in the unemployment rate were better than expected.
