WASHINGTON, DC—On Friday, the Labor Department released February's monthly unemployment figures to show that the economy created 275,000 jobs. It also reported that the unemployment rate dropped to 5.5% from 5.7% in January. The figures overshot estimates from economists that had predicted a total of 240,000 jobs created for the month and a drop to 5.6% for an unemployment rate.
This latest data point comes as other indicators suggest the economy is taking a beating, albeit a temporary onem from the cold and ice that has gripped much of the country this winter. For example, initial claims for state unemployment benefits last week rose by 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 320,000. Separately, the Commerce Department reported that new orders for manufactured goods dropped 0.2% in January, following a 3.5% decline in December.
While the winter weather is seen as the primary driver behind the slowdown – if that is what this is – other factors include ongoing weakness in Europe and the labor strike at West Coast ports, which has since been resolved. The weather, though, is thought to be the major culprit. That, at least, was what AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker said when the Architecture Billings Index showed no increase in design activity in January, following a nine-month stretch of positive billings.
It was "a bit of a surprise given the overall strength of the market over the past nine months," he said when the new figures were released in February. "Likely some of this can be attributed to severe weather conditions in January. We will have a better sense if there is a reason for more serious concern over the next couple of months."
The latest employment data, however, portends continued growth for the economy and the commercial real estate industry with job gains registering in food services and drinking places, professional and business services, construction, health care, and in transportation and warehousing. Employment in professional and business services increased by 51,000; construction added 29,000 jobs; and employment in health care rose by 24,000.
Transportation and warehousing added 19,000 jobs in February, while retail jobs grew by 32,000.
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