WASHINGTON — Non-farm payroll employment rose 227,000 in February and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.3%, the Labor Department reported Friday.
The increase in February non-farm payroll employment was the result of gains in professional and business services, health care and social assistance, leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, and mining.
The level was higher than the median 210,000 estimated by economists polled by Thomson Reuters, but the 8.3% unemployment rate was on target with the rate they projected.
The 227,000 non-farm payroll employment gain for February followed a revised 284,000 increase for January, originally reported as a gain of 243,000.
Total private payrolls were up 233,000 while government payrolls were down 6,000 in February.
Manufacturing employers added 31,000 jobs, after gaining a revised 52,000 jobs in January.
Average hourly earnings where $19.64 in February, up 0.2% from $19.61 in January.
The workweek for all private workers rose to 33.8 hours, up from an unrevised 33.7 hours in January.
