By Jeff Cox -
CNBC
Job creation exceeded expectations in February and pointed to a still vibrant U.S. labor market, although the unemployment rate rose.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 275,000 positions in the month, while the unemployment rate rose to 3.9%.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected payroll growth of 198,000, a pace slower than the downwardly revised increase of 229,000 in January.
December's increase was also revised downward, from 333,000 to 290,000.
The number of unemployed increased despite the fact that the activity rate remained at 62.5%.
The average hourly wage, which is closely watched as an indicator of inflation, posted a slightly lower-than-expected monthly increase and a slowdown from a year earlier.
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Salaries only rose 0.1% in the month, one tenth below the estimate, and 4.3% compared to a year ago, below the 4.5% in January and slightly below the estimate of 4.4%.
Job creation leaned toward part-time positions.
Full-time employment decreased by 187,000 positions, while part-time employment increased by 51,000, according to the household survey.
That count is used to calculate the unemployment rate and showed a decline of 184,000 in total employment.