U.S. economy creates 235,000 jobs in February

Employers added another burst of new jobs last month and stepped up the rate of pay for workers, a one-two punch that makes it likely that the Federal Reserve will nudge up interest rates next week.

Job growth totaled 235,000 in February, well above analysts’ expectations and on par with the payroll gains in January. The nation’s unemployment rate dropped a notch to 4.7 percent, the Labor Department said Friday.

The strong report reflects the rising confidence seen among businesses since late last year, despite the long period of relatively sluggish economic growth and a lot of uncertainties in the outlook.

The unseasonably warm winter through much of the country probably helped boost hiring; the construction sector bulked up by 58,000 jobs, the most in a decade.

Manufacturers added a strong 28,000 jobs. There were also solid job gains in educational services, health care and professional businesses. The one sector that did not do well was retail trade, which shed 26,000 jobs last month.

Companies in manufacturing and other industries, including small firms, have become more optimistic, at least in part from expectations that favorable tax and regulatory policies will be coming from the Trump administration.

Trump has begun his presidency on a strong economic note, with financial markets reaching record levels and job growth seeming to get a second wind despite the nation being at or close to full employment.

The labor force expanded last month as more people were pulled into the job market. And the share of the working-age population who reported working last month reached 60 percent, the highest since February 2009 when the country was in recession.