The unemployment rate dropped last month from 4.6 percent to 4.5 percent according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as jobs increased by 97,000 for the month. The Bureau also reported that hourly wages rose as well, evidence the the market is still in a healthy state.
The health and hospitality industries were particularly strong in hiring in the private sector, along with some hiring by the government which helped to make up for the drop in the construction and manufacturing industries.
The average hourly wage rose for non-management by 6 cents an hour, coming in at $17.16, that's 4 percent over last years' average hourly wage.
Other welcome news was that the trade deficit fell by about 3.8 percent in January, to $59.12 billion, led by sales of airplanes and computers overseas. Overall exports increased by $1.4 billion, finishing at $126.7 billion while imports fell by around $1 billion to finish at $185.8 billion.
Gathering the data together, it seems to say that the economy is growing at a modest rate, something that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke told congress last week. It is at a pace that is slower than the long-term average. But as Alan Ruskin, chief international strategist at RBS Greenwich Capital said, it "does argue strongly against the idea that weakness in housing and construction is starting to spill over into the service sector."
The results of the report suggests that the Fed may leave rates the same when it gets together in a couple of weeks.
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