U.S. hiring was at its weakest in more than a year in February with nonfarm payrolls increasing by a mere 20,000 jobs—dramatically short of expectations. Economists had forecast that employers added some 185,000 jobs for the month. But Bloomberg News reports the weak numbers could be blamed on winter weather—for example, construction jobs fell by 31,000. However, many other sectors had a weak February, including education and health services as well as leisure and hospitality. One positive: Average hourly earnings rose 3.4 percent from a year earlier—better than had been expected—and the jobless rate continued to tick down, hitting 3.8 percent, which is a near five-decade low.
