• From the Associated Press:
"The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week jumped by the most in five months, but layoffs remain historically low as the labor market continues to be largely unaffected by the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes.
"Applications for jobless claims in the US for the week ending March 4 rose by 21,000 to 211,000 from 190,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said Thursday. It’s the first time in eight weeks that claims came in above 200,000.
"The four-week moving average of claims, which flattens out some of the weekly ups and downs, rose by 4,000 to 197,000, remaining below the 200,000 threshold for the seventh straight week.
"Applications for unemployment benefits are considered a proxy for layoffs."
• From the Wall Street Journal:
"U.S. hiring grew solidly in February as employers added 311,000 jobs. Unemployment rose to 3.6%.
"Last month’s job growth, reported by the Labor Department on Friday, aligned with other evidence of resilient economic growth in the face of high inflation and rising interest rates. Payrolls advanced last month on a seasonally adjusted basis at a slightly cooler pace than in January, when employers added a robust 504,000 jobs.
"Employers in leisure and hospitality, retail and health care snapped up workers last month, the Labor Department said. Transportation and warehousing, finance and manufacturing companies cut employees, while the tech-heavy information sector also shed jobs again, it said.
"Average hourly earnings grew 4.6% in February from a year earlier, a slowdown from last year but still above the prepandemic pace, the department added."
