Strong February jobs gain
Payrolls growth tops forecasts for only second time in the last nine months; unemployment rate up.
March 4, 2005: 8:34 AM EST
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. employers added more jobs in February, as the much anticipated monthly employment report came in stronger than Wall Street expectations for only the second time in the last nine months.
The Labor Department reported that there was a net gain of 262,000 jobs in the month, compared with the revised 132,000 gain reported in January. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast a gain of 225,000 jobs in the month.
The unemployment edged up to 5.4 percent from 5.2 percent in January.
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