Commissioner's Statement on the Employment Situation News Release — 2014-03-07

Advance copies of this statement are made available to the press under lock-up conditions with the explicit understanding that the data are embargoed until 8:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 175,000 in February, and the unemployment rate, at 6.7 percent, changed little. Employment increased in professional and business services and in wholesale trade but fell in the information industry. Incorporating the revisions for December and January, which increased nonfarm employment by 25,000 on net, monthly job gains have averaged 129,000 over the past 3 months. In the 12 months prior to February, employment growth averaged 189,000 per month. Employment in professional and business services rose by 79,000 in February. Within the industry, accounting and bookkeeping services added 16,000 jobs. Employment continued to trend up in temporary help services (+24,000) and in services to buildings and dwellings (+11,000). In February, wholesale trade employment increased by 15,000, mostly in durable goods.