Jobs report crushes expectations, wage growth slows

Pennsylvania's unemployment rate held steady at 4.8 percent in January, the Department of Labor & Industry said Friday.

Hiring surged last month as US employers generated the most new jobs since mid-2016, the Labor Department said Friday, but wage growth slowed as long-awaited gains in worker pay have yet to take permanent hold.

Victoria is no longer showing the lowest unemployment rate in B.C.as the number went up again in the latest figures released by Statistics Canada Friday.

Employment in professional and business services, which tends to drive office demand, increased by 50,000 in February and has risen by 495,000 during the last 12 months.

The payrolls gain was the most since July 2016 and triple the roughly 100,000 jobs the economy needs to create each month to keep up with growth in the working-age population.

Along those lines, average weekly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees in manufacturing rose from $891.63 in January to $900.55 in February. "Today's report shows that average hourly earnings significantly increased in February and have increased by 2.6 percent over the a year ago".

The February hiring increase kept the unemployment rate steady at 4.1 percent, where it has remained since October 2017, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Gunman takes hostages at NorCal vets home
Armoured police vehicles, fire engines and ambulances remain on the scene while the hostage situation unfolds. An employee who answered the phone said the shooter had taken three hostages but this could not be confirmed.

The state's civilian labor force dropped 4,000 over the month, to 6.414 million, after remaining unchanged for four months.

Discouraged workers are persons not now looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. That indicated that more people were coming off the labor-market sidelines to look for work. The unemployment rate had been expected to dip to 4.0%.

Investors welcomed the prospect of continued strong job growth and low interest rates.

So, for the first two months of the year the USA economy has added 552,000 jobs, a 20.3 percent increase from the first two months of 2017.

Employment gains were led by the construction sector, which added 61,000 jobs, the most since March 2007.

Financial activities added 28,000 jobs over the month, with gains in credit intermediation and related activities (+8,000); insurance carriers and related activities (+8,000); and securities, commodity contracts, and investments (+5,000). Government employment was up by 26,000.

December and January's job numbers were both revised upwards, going from 160,000 to 175,000 and 200,000 to 239,000 respectively. Average hourly earnings for production and non-supervisory workers, which economists say are better measured, increased 0.3 percent in February. Average hourly earnings had been expected to increase 0.2 percent in February. With those upward revisions, hiring has averaged 242,000 over the last three months.

Related News:

10 March 2018

Hazaras Protest After an ISIS Attack Kills 10 in Kabul
The local TOLO news said the explosion occurred close to Mosalla-e-Mazari area in Kabul's sixth district. Despite cautious optimism for a peace deal, Kabul remains on high alert, fearing further violence.

10 March 2018

Saudi Crown Heir has Included Turkey in the "Triangle of Evil"
Saudi Arabia has moved closer to a deal to buy 48 Typhoon fighter jets, United Kingdom aerospace giant BAE Systems has said.

10 March 2018

China trade like competing in 'Olympic race wearing lead shoes': Musk
President Trump cites Tesla CEO Elon Musk's tweet to the president over having unfair trade policies with China. China levies a 25 percent duty on sales of imported vehicles. "They send their auto over here, 2.5%".
10 March 2018

Mississippi Legislature Approves Bill Banning Abortions After 15 Weeks
Attempts by states to combat this with their own laws have proven futile, and the Supreme Court has refused to hear cases as such. Supreme Court has been telling states that they can't ban abortions before a fetus can survive outside the womb on its own.

10 March 2018

Meghan Markle Baptized in Private Ceremony With Prince Harry and Charles
According to Richards, Markle told her she can achieve whatever she wants to, adding that she'd like to see her on TV one day.

10 March 2018

Pearland High School student arrested with a gun
Administrators and law enforcement urge students not to make comments that could be construed as violent or threatening. Further investigation revealed the 17-year-old male student had threatened to kill three students, according to police.
10 March 2018

Reasons You Shouldn't Buy or Upgrade to the Galaxy S9 now
As far as screen size goes, the Note 9 may well match the 6.3 inches of the Note 8 , just a shade bigger than the S9 Plus. It is expected to be similar to the Galaxy S9 Plus in many aspects, but the Note 9 will have many unique features as well.

10 March 2018

Undertale Engine, GameMaker Studio 2 Launching on Nintendo Switch
Super Smash Bros . for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U were released on October 3 and November 21, 2014, respectively, in North America.

10 March 2018

Forcing North Korean nuclear retreat would mean lasting legacy for Trump
Messer also said that meaningful talks would be more progress than the nation saw during the entire Obama Administration. Warren's remarks came one day after South Korean officials announced that Trump has agreed to meet with Kim by May.
10 March 2018

Florida governor expected to sign bill with new gun controls today
The measure would raise the minimum age to buy rifles from 18 to 21 and create a waiting period on weapons sales. Marion Hammer, the NRA's Florida lobbyist, called the bill "a display of bullying and coercion".

10 March 2018

On International Women`s Day researchers say they might`ve found Amelia Earhart`s bones
In July 2017, the History Channel posted a photo saying that there was a possibility that Earhart could be seen in the photo. Public and private search parties combed the surrounding areas for Noonan and Earhart's remains, but no evidence was found.

09 March 2018

Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) Shares Up -5.4% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings
Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 13.3% during the third quarter. United Kingdom-based Barclays Public Ltd Com has invested 0% in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF ) for 121,863 shares.