LoginThe Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) monthly report for February 2013 showed higher than expected gains in the employment sector. The U.S. economy added 236,000 new jobs in February 2013, and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent. This is a higher than expected gain, as analysts had predicted the report would indicate an overall addition of 160,000 new jobs, though some revised those predictions up slightly after a report by payroll company ADP demonstrated that private industry had added 198,000 jobs in February 2013.
Month-to-month, February's employment figure marks a dramatic improvement over January 2013, when the BLS reported the economy only added 119,000 jobs.
Healthcare was among the more productive industries, adding 32,000 employees. Construction and information services also expanded, adding 48,000 and 20,000 new hires respectively. The single largest growth was in professional and business services, where ranks swelled with 73,000 new hires. The biggest gains in that sector were in administrative and support services, where 44,000 positions were added.
The public sector saw cuts, according to the report. Excluding the postal service, the federal government cut 4,200 positions while state and local government cut 10,000 jobs, mostly in education.
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