US Job Growth Surges, Setting Stage for Fed Rate Hike

The US Labor Department announced that the economy added 235,000 jobs in February, exceeding expectations. The construction sector saw its largest gain in nearly 10 years due to unseasonably warm weather.

Average hourly earnings rose 6 cents, or 0.2 percent, while January's wage growth was revised up to 0.2 percent from the previous 0.1 percent gain.

The unemployment rate fell one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.7 percent as more people entered the labor market. Economists had forecast employment increasing by 190,000 jobs last month.