US jobs report for February is likely to show that hiring remains solid but slower WPXI [Video]

WASHINGTON — (AP) — The nation’s economy likely produced another month of healthy hiring in February, once again brushing aside the effects of high interest rates with unexpected ease.

When the Labor Department issues the monthly jobs report Friday, economists predict it will show that employers added a solid 200,000 jobs in February, according to a survey of economists by the data firm FactSet. Though that would be down from the blockbuster gains in December (333,000) and January (353,000), it would still be plenty high enough to outpace population growth and keep the unemployment rate near a half-century low.

Economists have projected that the jobless rate stayed at 3.7% in February. If so, it would mark the 25th straight month in which the unemployment rate has remained below 4% — the longest such streak since the 1960s.

The job market’s health over the past three years, as the economy accelerated out of the pandemic …