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WASHINGTON, March 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. job growth in February beats market expectation, and the unemployment rate also edges down, paving the way for possible rise of interest rate of the Federal Reserve next week.
The total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 235,000 in February, beyond the market expectation of 200,000, according to data released by the Labor Department on Friday.
The growth was slightly lower than the 238,000 increase in January, which was revised up from previously reported 227,000. The Labor Department revised down last December's data from 157,000 to 155,000.
With the revisions, employment gains in December and January were 9,000 more than previously reported. Over the past three months, job gains have averaged at a healthy pace of 209,000 per month.
The unemployment rate edged down to 4.7 percent in February from previous month's 4.8 percent.
The labor force participation rate, which shows the share of working-age people in the labor force, increased from 62.9 percent in January to 63 percent, the highest since March last year.
In February, the average hourly earnings rose 6 cents to 26.09 U.S. dollars, following a 5-cent increase in January. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.8 percent, higher than the 2.5 percent growth in the previous month.
The solid job gains in February have cleared the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rate in its next monetary policy meeting, which is scheduled for March 14 and March 15.
Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen in a recent speech signaled that an interest rate hike in this month's monetary policy will likely be appropriate, if the economy progresses in line with officials' expectation.
Other Fed policymakers, including New York Fed President William Dudley and Fed governor Lael Brainard, said recently that it would be appropriate for the Fed to move rates soon, as the economy is closing full employment and 2 percent inflation target.
