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

UPDATES WITH REMARKS BY US PRESIDENT, SECRETARY OF LABOR

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.

"People who were staying out of the job market are now getting back into the job market," President Joe Biden told a news conference at the White House. "The share of working-age folks who are in the labor force is higher than it's been any time since 2008."

"Today's job numbers are clear. Our economy is moving in the right direction," he said, stressing that small businesses account for half the employed individuals in the American economy.

Asked whether he is concerned that higher interest rates would lower job growth, the president pointed to the consumer inflation figures that will be released next week and added: "We'll see what the Fed will do. ... I feel confident that we are headed in the right direction."

Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh said in a statement that although the unemployment rate moved up to 3.6% it still remains near a historic low level.

"Growth was especially strong in the leisure and hospitality sector, as restaurants and bars added jobs, in retail trade, and in healthcare, where hospitals and nursing homes added significant numbers of jobs," he said.

Walsh emphasized that labor force participation for adults between the ages of 25-54 in February was higher than it was before the coronavirus pandemic for the first time.