The U.S. economy added 313,000 jobs in February, in line with expectations, while wage growth moderated to 2.6%.
The wage increase was below economists’ forecasts for a 2.8% gain over the past 12 months. The unemployment rate held at a 17-year low of 4.1% for the fifth straight month.
Signs are appearing that the benefits of a faster economy are starting to flow through to workers, albeit slowly. The pace of wage increases is still well below the 3.5%-plus readings notched in 2007, just before the crisis hit, indicating room for further gains.
