“WASHINGTON (AP) — Employers likely added more than 200,000 jobs for a third straight month in February, adding to evidence that the recovery is building momentum.
Economists forecast that the economy likely generated a net gain of 210,000 jobs, according to FactSet. That’s below January’s 243,000 jobs but still a healthy figure. The unemployment rate, which has fallen for five straight months, is projected to stay 8.3 percent.
If the unemployment rate were to fall for a sixth straight month, it would mark the first such streak since 1984.
It will be hard to match the jobs report for January. The employment gains came from across many industries and up and down the pay scale. Manufacturing, restaurants and hotels, retail, and professional services such as accounting all reported big job gains.
A key reason why the unemployment rate has dropped since last year is that many out-of-work people have stopped looking for work. Only people without jobs who are actively seeking one are counted as unemployed.
A sustained rise in the number of people looking for jobs would be a good sign, even if it pushed up the unemployment rate.
Friday’s report comes as a host of data points to an improving economy and job market. Weekly applications for unemployment benefits have fallen about 14 percent in six months. Though they ticked up last week, average applications remain near a four-year low….”
The bear case for today’s report
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