WASHINGTON, DC-The Labor Department continued its roll of good news with its release of employment statistics Friday morning. In the month of February, the economy added 227,000 positions to US payrolls. It is the third consecutive month in which more than 200,000 jobs have been added and the fourth out of the last six months -- a sign of growing health for the economy. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.3%.

The business sector, or office-using professions, saw 82,000 jobs created. Manufacturing, which has been on a tear for some time, added 31,000. Retail shed 7,400 positions, likely due to seasonal shifts in employment.

The construction industry lost 13,000 jobs between January and February, but continued a string of year-over-year job increases, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America.

It is a good report all in all, Cassidy Turley senior economist Kevin Thorpe tells GlobeSt.com, including the still struggling construction job recovery. “There are early indications that developers are getting increasingly confident and moving forward on new development,” Thorpe says.

“If the data looks like a healthy recovery and smells like a healthy recovery, eventually we have to conclude that this is really morphing into a healthy recovery.”

He points to the revisions made to December and January’s employment figures, which were revised upward by an aggregate 61,000.

If this growth were to continue, it would mean a robust year for the commercial real estate space, Thorpe continues. However, he says, more than likely it won’t continue at this pace. “There will still be significant job creation this year but there are also clear threats that have to be taken into account. These include possible spiking oil and gas prices, the European fiscal debt crisis and the drag from federal policy, he says.

Instant Insights /

US Economy Adds 227,000 Jobs

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