U.S. Unemployment Slips Below 9%

The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 8.9 percent in February, the third straight monthly decline and putting it below 9 percent for the first time since April 2009.

But even with that improvement, 13.7 million Americans remain unemployed, almost double pre-recession levels.

—JCL

The BBC:

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”.

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