The Labor Department’s monthly job statistics for February are out today and show that the economy continues to add jobs. The unemployment rate slid downward and 295,000 jobs were added.
The data shows that the unemployment rate dropped to 5.5 percent, after it ticked up to 5.7 percent in January.
While the overall numbers might look good, a dig deeper into the statistics will make it clear why some are unconvinced that the economy is getting better. As The New York Times points out, wages continue to move slowly, rising just 0.1 percent in February. Average hourly wages for private sector jobs rose 2 percent.
The slow wage growth issue might be helped by Walmart’s decision to raise its own minimum wage to $9 an hour and $10 by next year. According to Fortune , other companies that plan to do the same include Starbucks and TJX, which owns Marshalls and T.J. Maxx.
According to the Labor Department, the number of unemployed people is at 8.7 million, while the number of long-term unemployed was at 2.7 million in February. The number of long-term unemployed people has been down 1.1 million over the past year.
The food services sector saw 59,000 jobs added, while there were 51,000 jobs added in the professional and business services sector.
image courtesy of INFphoto.com
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