Washington: More than 2.27 lakh jobs were added to the US economy in the month of February, with unemployment remaining at 8.3 per cent, official figures released on Friday said, prompting the White House to assert that the country s economy is gaining ground.
"Today's employment report provides further evidence that the economy is continuing to heal from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression," Alan B Krueger, Chairman of the President s Council of Economic Advisers, said after the release of February's employment figures.
After losing millions of good manufacturing jobs in the years before and during the recession, the economy has added 429,000 manufacturing jobs in the past two years, he said, adding that for the first time since the 1990s, the manufacturing sector is adding jobs.
"To support a revival in manufacturing jobs and output, the President has proposed tax incentives for manufacturers, enhanced training for the workforce, and measures to create manufacturing hubs," he said.
According to the data, private sector payrolls increased by 233,000 jobs and overall payroll employment rose by 227,000 jobs in February. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.3 per cent. The unemployment rate has fallen by 0.8 percentage points over the last 6 months.
"Despite adverse shocks that have created headwinds for economic growth, the economy has added private sector jobs for 24 straight months, for a total of more than 3.9 million payroll jobs over that period. In the last 12 months, 2.2 million private sector jobs were added on net. In the last 6 months, 1.3 million private sector jobs were added, the most of any 6 month period in nearly 6 years," he said.
Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, termed it as a encouraging news. Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said the jobs report is a step in the right direction for the middle class and for small businesses. "But we still have more work to do."
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Report, February marked two years of consecutive month-on-month growth in private sector employment. "This is a strong sign that our economy is recovering and that our country is on the right path forward," said Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer.
However, Republicans continued to be critical of the economic condition. "It is positive news that more Americans were able to find jobs last month and help provide relief for themselves and their families particularly as we see the Obama Administration continuing to push policies that make it harder for small businesses to grow and harder for even more Americans to find success in this economy," said House Republcian Policy Committee Chairman, Tom Price.
"The fact remains that at this point in an economic recovery, growth and job creation ought to be far more robust ... Slow growth with a fragile job market is not acceptable today and it ought not be acceptable for America s future, he said.
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