February factory and construction employment increased
Manufacturing added 31,000 jobs and construction employment increased by 61,000 in February.
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 313,000 in the month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1 percent
Within the manufacturing industry, employment rose in transportation equipment (+8,000), fabricated metal products (+6,000), machinery (+6,000), and primary metals (+4,000). Over the past year, manufacturing has added 224,000 jobs.
In February, construction employment gains were led by specialty trade contractors (+38,000) and construction of buildings (+16,000). Construction has added 185,000 jobs over the past 4 months.