Feb. 2015—U.S. Economy Adds 295K Jobs, Unemployment Rate Down To 5.5%

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports employment increased by 295,000 in February, and the unemployment rate edged down to 5.5 percent.

Job gains occurred in foodservices and drinking places, professional and business services, construction, health care, and in transportation and warehousing.

Both the unemployment rate (5.5 percent) and the number of unemployed persons (8.7 million) edged down in February. Over the year, the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons were down by 1.2 percentage points and 1.7 million, respectively. View full report here.