US unemployment rate falls again

The US unemployment rate fell slightly to 8.9% in February, down from 9% the month before.

It is the third month in a row that the jobless rate has fallen, with February’s figure marking a near two-year low.

Employers added 192,000 jobs last month, the US Labor Department said, above market expectations.

Paul O’Neill, former US Treasury Secretary, described the data as “very positive”.

A Labor Department statement said that most job gains were in manufacturing, construction, business services and transport.

State and local government slashed 30,000 jobs, the most since November as budget cuts continue to bite.

The data showed that the jobless rate for adult men was 8.7%, for adult women 8%, and for teenagers 23.9%.

The unemployment rate has come down from 9.8% in November.

“We have moved into the expansion phase of the economic cycle and the economy is self-sustaining,” said Brian Levitt, an economist at Oppenheimer.

Share trading on the US futures market rose in expectation that the data will be well received by investors when Wall Street opens.