Business
More jobs created in the US – though African American unemployment not easing
U.S. employers added 227,000 jobs in February to complete three of the best months of hiring since the recession began. The unemployment rate was unchanged, largely because more people streamed into the work force.
The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate stayed at 8.3 percent last month, the lowest in three years.
African-American unemployment rose slightly from 13.6 to 14.1 percent, but black teen joblessness continued to improve dropped from 38.5 to 34.7.
And hiring in January and December was better than first thought. The government revised those figures to show 61,000 an additional jobs.
The economy has now generated an average of 245,000 jobs in the past three months. The only stretch better since the recession began was in early 2010.
That bodes well for President Barack Obama’s re-election chances, although he’s still likely to face the highest unemployment rate of any post-war president.
Last month’s hiring was broad-based and in both high-paying and lower-paying industries.
Manufacturing, mining, and professional services, such as accounting, all added jobs.
