By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com -- The labor market was in fine form in the month before the coronavirus arrived in the U.S., according to government data released on Friday.
The U.S. economy added a net 273,000 jobs in February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. It also revised up January’s job growth to 273,000 from an initial estimate of 225,000.
The jobless rate ticked back down to 3.5% from 3.6% as a result. The labor force participation rate stayed at 63.4%.
Average hourly earnings growth returned to 0.3% after dipping to 0.2%, the slowest in nearly a year, in January.
Average weekly hours rose to 34.4 from 34.3.
The data are usually among the most eagerly-anticipated in the financial markets’ calendar. However, global markets’ attention is currently focused on the worldwide spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, and the measures being taken to address it.
The Dow 30 futures contract ticked up slightly after the numbers but were still down 2.2% from late Thursday.