US adds 311,000 jobs in February, unemployment rises to 3.6%

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) – The US economy added 311,000 jobs in February, above market estimates, while the unemployment rate rose to 3.6%, the Labor Department announced on Friday.

The market expectation for nonfarm payrolls was a 205,000 gain in February.

Job additions for January was revised down by 13,000, from 517,000 to 504,000, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The unemployment rate rose to 3.6% in February, from 3.4% in January, while the market estimate for it was to come in at 3.4%.

The number of unemployed people in the US also increased in February, climbing to 5.9 million, from 5.7 million the month before.

Both the labor force participation rate at 62.5% and the employment-population ratio at 60.2% were little changed last month.