February jobs rose a surprisingly strong 678,000, unemployment edged lower while wages were flat

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/04/jobs-report-february-2022.html

Job growth accelerated in February, posting its biggest monthly gain since July as the employment picture got closer to its pre-pandemic self.

Nonfarm payrolls for the month grew by 678,000 and the unemployment rate was 3.8%, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

That compared to estimates of 440,000 for payrolls and 3.9% for the jobless rate.

In a sign that inflation could be cooling, wages barely rose for the month, up just 1 cent an hour or 0.03%, compared to estimates for a 0.5% gain. The year-over-year increase was 5.13%, well below the 5.8% Dow Jones estimate.

For the labor market broadly, the report brought the level of employed Americans closer to pre-pandemic levels, though still short by 1.14 million. Labor shortages remain a major obstacle to fill the 10.9 million jobs that were open at the end of 2021, a historically high gap that had left about 1.7 vacancies per available workers.

“The labor market recovery remains very robust across the board as more Americans are returning to work,” said Eric Merlis, managing director of global markets at Citizens Financial Group. “Geopolitical issues and inflation pose ongoing threats to the U.S. economic recovery, but pandemic restrictions are being lifted and we continue to see strong job growth.”

Markets, however, reacted little to the news as investors remain focused on the Russia-Ukraine war. Dow futures pointed to a loss of 300 points at the open and government bond yields were sharply lower.