Nonfarm payrolls increase by 313,000 in February vs. 200,000 est.
Nonfarm payrolls rose by 313,000 in February while the unemployment rate remained at 4.1 percent, the lowest since December 2000.
Wage growth was muted, however, with average hourly earnings up 2.6 percent on an annualized basis, 0.2 percentage points below expectations.
Stock market futures surged following the Bureau of Labor Statistics report.
Jeff Cox | @JeffCoxCNBCcom
The economy added 313,000 jobs in February, crushing expectations, while the unemployment rate remained at 4.1 percent, according to a Labor Department report Friday that could help quell inflation fears.
Economists surveyed by Reuters had been expecting nonfarm payroll growth of 200,000 and the unemployment rate to decline one-tenth of a percent to 4 percent.
An increase in the labor force participation rate to its highest level since September 2017 helped keep the headline unemployment number steady, as the number of those counted as not in the workforce tumbled by 653,000 to just over 95 million.
The total counted as "employed" in the household survey surged by 785,000 to a record 155.2 million.
A separate measure that takes into account those out of the workforce and the underemployed — sometimes referred to as the "real" unemployment rate — held steady at 8.2 percent.
Stocks surged following the report, with the Dow industrials opening more than 150 points higher after being slightly negative before the news.
"The underlying economic growth is quite strong, but there's no real pressures from a wages and inflation standpoint," said Greg Peters, senior investment officer at PGIM Fixed Income. "It's very good for risk assets."
Construction jobs led the way, with 61,000 new positions, followed by retail and professional and business services (50,000 apiece), manufacturing (31,000) and financial activities (28,000). Health care added 19,000 while mining saw 9,000 new jobs.
"The jobs streak remains intact, and it's punctuating what has been a tremendous start to the year," said Mike Loewengart, vice president of investment strategy at E*Trade.
Investors were watching the report closely not only for clues about job growth but also whether wage pressures were continuing to build. Wage growth came in less than expected, rising 0.1 percent for the month and 2.6 percent on an annualized basis.
The average work week rose by 0.1 hours to 34.5 hours.
The surge in job creation coming without an accompanying rise in wage pressures fits in well with the Wall Street hopes of a "Goldilocks" economy.
"The labor market tightens but wage growth moderated. Good news for both sides of the street, Main Street and Wall Street," said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial.
In addition to the big job growth, previous months' counts were revised substantially higher. December went from 160,000 to 175,000 while January saw a boost from the initially reported 200,000 to 239,000. That brings the three-month average to 242,000.
The February report was the biggest beat against expectations since December 2009, according to Bespoke Investment Group.
Stocks sold off aggressively a month ago after January's payrolls report showed average hourly earnings rose 2.8 percent annually, the biggest gain since June 2009.
Multiple Federal Reserve officials have said recently they see the jobs market at or even beyond full employment. The unemployment rate was last this low in December 2000. However, sustained wage growth has been absent, keeping the Fed on a pace of consistent but gradual rate hikes.
Stocks Set to Jump After Report Indicates Strongest Job Market In Two Decades
Explosive jobs numbers fuel surge on Wall Street
MarketWatch - March 9, 2018
U.S. stock futures climbed firmly higher Friday morning after the jobs report for February came in better than forecast.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YMM8, +0.69% rose 151 points, or 0.6%, to 25,072, while those for the S&P 500 futures ESM8, +0.59% advanced 14 points, or 0.5%, at 2,759, while Nasdaq-100 futures NQM8, +0.74% rose 46 points, or 0.7%, to 7,048.50.
The U.S. created 313,000 new jobs in February, the biggest gain since mid-2016 and a reflection of the strongest labor market in two decades. Economists polled by MarketWatch had predicted a 222,000 increase in nonfarm jobs. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1%. Hourly pay rose 4 cents, or 0.1%, to $26.75 an hour, the government said Friday.
U.S. Household Net Worth Pushes Further Into Record Territory
Household wealth rose more than $2 trillion in the fourth quarter with help from rising stock and home prices
By Harriet Torry
Americans’ wealth pushed further into record territory in the final quarter of last year, hitting nearly $100 trillion thanks to rising stock markets and property prices.
Household net worth—the value of all assets such as stocks and real estate minus liabilities like mortgage and credit-card debt—rose more than $2 trillion last quarter to a record $98.746 trillion.
The ratio of wealth to income is “at pretty dizzying levels right now,” JPMorgan Chase economist Michael Feroli said.
