U.S. Creates 235,000 Jobs In February; Unemployment 4.7%

The U.S. added 235,000 new jobs in February, helped by a big gain in construction, in a sign the economy is still chugging along. Economists polled by MarketWatch had predicted a 221,000 increase in nonfarm jobs. The unemployment rate dipped to 4.7% from 4.8%, the government said Friday. Average wages rose 0.2% to $26.09 an hour. Hourly pay increased 2.8% from February 2016 to February 2017, up from 2.6% in the prior month. Hours worked was unchanged at 34.4 a week. The government said 238,000 new jobs were created in January instead of 227,000. December's gain was trimmed to 155,000 from 157,000.