The U.S. unemployment rate fell to a four-year low in February 2013, with the economy adding 236,000 jobs that month, about 70,000 more jobs than Wall Street analysts had predicted.
According to a report released this month by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the overall unemployment rate in February was 7.7%, down from 7.9% in January.
The February jobless rate was the lowest since December 2008, when unemployment was at 7.3%, according to the BLS.
Approximately 12 million Americans were out of work in February.
As has been the case since the beginning of the recession, individuals with higher education degrees continued to fare much better in the employment market than those without a college degree. The unemployment rate for workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher was 3.8% in February, up slightly from 3.7% in January 2013, the BLS reported.
However, the February jobless rate was 6.7% for workers with only some higher education and 7.9% for those with just a high school diploma. Individuals without a high school diploma continued to see double-digit unemployment, with a rate of 11.2% in February.
The February numbers for workers with a bachelor’s degree or better represent a decrease in the unemploment rate compared with the same period last year, when the jobless rate was 4.2%.
Industries showing employment growth in February included professional and business services, which added more than 70,000 jobs. Other sectors that saw increases were construction (48,000 jobs), healthcare (32,000), the information industry (including motion picture and sound recording), retail, wholesale, and food and beverage services, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The employment rate held steady among other major industries.
Average hourly wages for all U.S. nonfarm workers employed in the private sector rose 4 cents, to $23.82, in February. Meanwhile, the average hourly earnings for private-sector production and nonsupervisory workers was up 5 cents, to $20.04, the BLS reported.
At the height of the recent recession, unemployment reached 10% in October 2009. The nation’s jobless rate has fluctuated between 7.7% and 7.9% since September 2012, government statistics show.
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