The U.S. economy is in comeback mode.
Continuing a three month winning streak, the country added 227,000 jobs in February, the Labor Department said, providing another sign that the economy is finally on the mend and a boost for President Obama.
It marked the third month in a row that the country added more than 200,000 nonfarm jobs.
The unemployment rate remained at 8.3%, the same as it was in January but down significantly from the 9.1% level reached in August.
“It’s a great report,” said Robert Brusca, chief economist at Fact and Opinion Economics. “This month, just about every moving part is moving in the same direction and that is up.”
Even though the unemployment rate did not go down, it was still taken as solid news. Many unemployed workers, encouraged by the improving economy, got off their couches and started to look for work again.
“Job gains continued to increase, but workers reentering the workforce cancelled out that effect,” said Sean Incremona, senior economist at 4Cast.
The report helped lift the Dow, which was up nearly 37 points in midday trading to 12,944.
The positive jobs report adds fuel to President Obama’s reelection campaign as he makes the case that his strategy to boost the economy is bearing fruit.
“This is definitely a pro—Obama report,” Brusca said.
With jobs on the mend, the chances that the Federal Reserve will provide more stimulus to juice up the economy are dwindling.
The report also showed that job growth in December and January were better than first reported, with the economy adding 61,000 more jobs. That brings the average growth rate for the past three months to 245,000.
The private sector was the engine of growth in February, adding 233,000 jobs. But government employment fell by 6,000.
Even so, economists cautioned that the unemployment rate remains very high and the recovery may not be broad based enough.
“We would like to see more broad based participation,” Incremona said. “Job growth is being led by certain sectors. We saw a big boost in temporary workers, health care and food workers but it was weaker in retail.”
pfurman@nydailynews.com
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