By Alexis Stodghill on Mar 4th 2011 12:32PM
Filed under: News, The Economy
From AOL News:
Employers hired in February at the fastest pace in almost a year and the unemployment rate fell to 8.9 percent - a nearly two-year low.
The economy added 192,000 jobs last month, with factories, professional and business services, education and health care among those expanding employment. Retailers, however, trimmed jobs. State and local governments, wrestling with budget shortfalls, slashed 30,000 jobs, the most since November. Federal government hiring was flat.
Private employers added 222,000 jobs last month, the most since April. That shows that companies are feeling more confident in the economy and about their own financial prospects. And it bolstered hopes that businesses will shift into a more aggressively hiring mode and boost the economic recovery.
The unemployment rate is now at the lowest point since April 2009. It has been falling for three months, down from 9.8 percent in November, marking the sharpest three-month decline since 1983.
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Employment Around Globe
Facing grim prospects for education and employment, Libya's youths have led the effort to end the 42-year reign of dictator Moammar Gadhafi, including this group in Benghazi, Libya, on Saturday, February 26, 2011. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/MCT)
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Jobs Around the World
Facing grim prospects for education and employment, Libya's youths have led the effort to end the 42-year reign of dictator Moammar Gadhafi, including this group in Benghazi, Libya, on Saturday, February 26, 2011. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/MCT)
Jobs Around the World
Indian workers who were employed by a construction firm return home after being evacuated from Tripoli because of the ongoing strife, at Indira Gandhi International airport, in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011. The first batch of nearly 300 Indians evacuated from strife-torn Libya landed in New Delhi aboard a special Air India flight close to midnight Saturday. Meanwhile, three Indian Navy ships have also sailed to Libya to help in the evacuation of the 18,000 Indians in the country, according to news reports. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Jobs Around the World
Indian workers who were employed by a construction firm return home after being evacuated from Tripoli, because of the ongoing strife in Libya, at Indira Gandhi International airport, in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011. The first batch of nearly 300 Indians evacuated from strife-torn Libya landed in New Delhi aboard a special Air India flight close to midnight Saturday. Meanwhile, three Indian Navy ships have also sailed to Libya to help in the evacuation of the 18,000 Indians in the country, according to news reports. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Jobs Around the World
Security personnel employ a sniffer dog to scan the stadium ahead of the Cricket World Cup match between India and England in Bangalore, India, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)
Jobs Around the World
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) from Libya wave inside a bus after they arrive at the Manila International Airport in Manila on February 26, 2011. The first group of Filipinos arrived home from riot-torn Libya, as the government stepped up efforts to bring more home. At least 57 Filipinos who fled the unrest in Libya were flown into Manila by their French employer with a total of 97 expected before the end of the day, said foreign department spokesman Ed Malaya. AFP PHOTO/NOEL CELIS (Photo credit should read NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images)
Jobs Around the World
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) from Libya wave inside a bus after they arrive at the Manila International Airport in Manila on February 26, 2011. The first group of Filipinos arrived home from riot-torn Libya, as the government stepped up efforts to bring more home. At least 57 Filipinos who fled the unrest in Libya were flown into Manila by their French employer with a total of 97 expected before the end of the day, said foreign department spokesman Ed Malaya. AFP PHOTO/NOEL CELIS (Photo credit should read NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images)
Jobs Around the World
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) from Libya wave inside a bus after they arrive at the Manila International Airport in Manila on February 26, 2011. The first group of Filipinos arrived home from riot-torn Libya, as the government stepped up efforts to bring more home. At least 57 Filipinos who fled the unrest in Libya were flown into Manila by their French employer with a total of 97 expected before the end of the day, said foreign department spokesman Ed Malaya. AFP PHOTO/NOEL CELIS (Photo credit should read NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images)
Jobs Around the World
Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) Luis Parro (R), a foreman who worked in Libya, kisses his wife Salve Parro (L) as he arrives in the local office of his agency where his family is waiting moments after arriving from the Manila International Airport in Manila on February 26, 2011. The first group of Filipinos arrived home from riot-torn Libya, as the government stepped up efforts to bring more home. At least 57 Filipinos who fled the unrest in Libya were flown into Manila by their French employer with a total of 97 expected before the end of the day, said foreign department spokesman Ed Malaya. AFP PHOTO/NOEL CELIS (Photo credit should read NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images)
Jobs Around the World
Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) Fidel Monteagudo (L), a welder who worked in Libya, is hugged by his daughter as he arrive in the local office of his agency where his family is waiting moments after arriving from the Manila International Airport in Manila on February 26, 2011. The first group of Filipinos arrived home from riot-torn Libya, as the government stepped up efforts to bring more home. At least 57 Filipinos who fled the unrest in Libya were flown into Manila by their French employer with a total of 97 expected before the end of the day, said foreign department spokesman Ed Malaya. AFP PHOTO/NOEL CELIS (Photo credit should read NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images)
Jobs Around the World
A banner reading "Jobs" hangs on thre facade of the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington on February 25, 2011. New claims for US unemployment insurance rose for the first time in three weeks but continued to hover near a two-year low, official data released on February 17 showed. The Labor Department said a seasonally adjusted 410,000 initial jobless claims were filed in the week ending February 12, up 6.5 percent from the prior week when claims had fallen to their lowest level since July 2008. AFP PHOTO/Nicholas KAMM (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)
Jobs Around the World
"These number can be sustained and built on," economist Joel Naroff at Naroff Economic Advisors. "The economy is recovering, there is no question about it. Businesses are finally taking some of those profits they are earning and putting them back into the work force."
The number of unemployed people dipped to 13.7 million, still almost double since before the recession.
When factoring in the number of part-time workers who would rather be working full time and those who have given up looking for work, the percentage of "underemployed" people dropped to 15.9 percent in February. That's the lowest in nearly two years.
The positive news on the hiring front comes as the larger economy is gaining momentum.
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