AUGUSTA, Ga.
— The U.S. economy added an estimated 211,000 jobs last month, its biggest monthly gain since November 2009, the Labor Department said Wednesday.
The unemployment rate ticked up to 7.1% from 7.2%.
The jobless rate for January was unchanged at 7.9%.
The Labor Department reported the numbers were compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which makes adjustments to the Bureau’s monthly jobs report when there are revisions to the data.
The Labor department said the U.N. World Food Program reported an increase of 8,500 people in January, bringing the total to about 17 million people.
The labor force participation rate for the entire population stood at 63.5%, the lowest level since November of 2007.
The number of Americans in the labor force fell to 57.9 million in January from 60.5 million in December, according to the report.
The job market has improved in the past two months as the labor market recovery has picked up steam, but it’s still not back to where it was before the recession.
Job growth in February was the weakest in over a year, but the economy is still showing signs of a recovery.
The U.K. economy grew by an estimated 2.9% in February, the fastest pace since March 2008.
The UK’s economy grew at an annual rate of 2.5% in the 12 months ended in February.
The eurozone economy grew 2.3% in January and the Eurozone’s economic output rose by 1.9%, the weakest growth in more than a year.
