Hiring in the US remained robust in February, but moderate wage gains and a slight rise in unemployment could pave the way for a smaller interest rate increase from the Federal Reserve when it meets later this month.
Employers added 311,000 jobs last month, data released by the Labour Department on Friday showed. While last month's hiring was a slowdown from January's mammoth report, it still beat Bloomberg's estimate of 225,000 job gains.
Meanwhile, unemployment rose slightly to 3.6 per cent, up from the 53-year-low of 3.4 per cent.
Average hourly earnings rose 0.2 per cent after January's gains of 0.3 per cent. Over the past 12 months, wages have increased 4.6 per cent, below estimates of 4.8 per cent.
"Our economy is moving in the right direction," President Joe Biden said in remarks from the White House.
He said he remains optimistic that inflation in the US will continue to cool, pointing to next week's Consumer Price Index report.
"Hopefully it will be in some solid shape," the President added.
Recent data indicates that the job market is especially tight in the US. A separate report from the Labour Department on Thursday showed there are currently 1.9 available positions for every jobseeker.
“Despite the job cuts that we have seen spread deep and fast across the tech sector, the US’s overall jobs market remains healthy,” said Srijan Katyal, global head of strategy and trading services at the brokerage ADSS.
Wall Street opened lower after the report's release. The Dow dropped 81 points. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 0.4 per cent and 0.62 per cent.
The Fed has attempted to slow down hiring — and with it, inflation — by bringing interest rates to the range of 4.5 per cent and 4.75 per cent, but Friday's release shows that the labour market has so far been unaffected by the central bank's actions.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell this week said the central bank would strongly consider speeding up the rate of its interest-rate raises after a slew of economic data came in hotter than expected.
“This data will reinforce the Fed’s stance on keeping rates higher for longer, particularly off the back of the Fed’s Powell stating they’re now targeting a higher-than-expected peak rate,” Mr Katyal said.
Friday's report shifted expectations among traders, who are split on whether the Fed will raise interest rates by 25 or 50 basis points later this month, CME's FedWatch Tool shows.
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Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte
Jawbone Press
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh359,000
On sale: now
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
FIGHT INFO
Men’s 60kg Round 1:
Ahmad Shuja Jamal (AFG) beat Krisada Takhiankliang (THA) - points
Hyan Aljmyah (SYR) beat Akram Alyminee (YEM) - retired Round 1
Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) beat Bhanu Pratap Pandit (IND) - TKO Round 1
Men’s 71kg Round 1:
Seyed Kaveh Soleyman (IRI) beat Abedel Rahman (JOR) - RSC round 3.
Amine Al Moatassime (UAE) walk over Ritiz Puri (NEP)
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
Match info
Arsenal 0
Manchester City 2
Sterling (14'), Bernardo Silva (64')
US PGA Championship in numbers
1 Joost Luiten produced a memorable hole in one at the par-three fourth in the first round.
2 To date, the only two players to win the PGA Championship after winning the week before are Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and Tiger Woods (2007, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational). Hideki Matsuyama or Chris Stroud could have made it three.
3 Number of seasons without a major for McIlroy, who finished in a tie for 22nd.
4 Louis Oosthuizen has now finished second in all four of the game's major championships.
5 In the fifth hole of the final round, McIlroy holed his longest putt of the week - from 16ft 8in - for birdie.
6 For the sixth successive year, play was disrupted by bad weather with a delay of one hour and 43 minutes on Friday.
7 Seven under par (64) was the best round of the week, shot by Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari on Day 2.
8 Number of shots taken by Jason Day on the 18th hole in round three after a risky recovery shot backfired.
9 Jon Rahm's age in months the last time Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the US PGA, in 1995.
10 Jimmy Walker's opening round as defending champion was a 10-over-par 81.
11 The par-four 11th coincidentally ranked as the 11th hardest hole overall with a scoring average of 4.192.
12 Paul Casey was a combined 12 under par for his first round in this year's majors.
13 The average world ranking of the last 13 PGA winners before this week was 25. Kevin Kisner began the week ranked 25th.
14 The world ranking of Justin Thomas before his victory.
15 Of the top 15 players after 54 holes, only Oosthuizen had previously won a major.
16 The par-four 16th marks the start of Quail Hollow's so-called "Green Mile" of finishing holes, some of the toughest in golf.
17 The first round scoring average of the last 17 major champions was 67.2. Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen shot 67 on day one at Quail Hollow.
18 For the first time in 18 majors, the eventual winner was over par after round one (Thomas shot 73).
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Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
MATCH INFO
Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Son 1', Kane 8' & 16') West Ham United 3 (Balbuena 82', Sanchez og 85', Lanzini 90' 4)
Man of the match Harry Kane
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11 cabbie-recommended restaurants and dishes to try in Abu Dhabi
Iqbal Restaurant behind Wendy’s on Hamdan Street for the chicken karahi (Dh14)
Pathemari in Navy Gate for prawn biryani (from Dh12 to Dh35)
Abu Al Nasar near Abu Dhabi Mall, for biryani (from Dh12 to Dh20)
Bonna Annee at Navy Gate for Ethiopian food (the Bonna Annee special costs Dh42 and comes with a mix of six house stews – key wet, minchet abesh, kekel, meser be sega, tibs fir fir and shiro).
Al Habasha in Tanker Mai for Ethiopian food (tibs, a hearty stew with meat, is a popular dish; here it costs Dh36.75 for lamb and beef versions)
Himalayan Restaurant in Mussaffa for Nepalese (the momos and chowmein noodles are best-selling items, and go for between Dh14 and Dh20)
Makalu in Mussaffa for Nepalese (get the chicken curry or chicken fry for Dh11)
Al Shaheen Cafeteria near Guardian Towers for a quick morning bite, especially the egg sandwich in paratha (Dh3.50)
Pinky Food Restaurant in Tanker Mai for tilapia
Tasty Zone for Nepalese-style noodles (Dh15)
Ibrahimi for Pakistani food (a quarter chicken tikka with roti costs Dh16)
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The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 640hp
Torque: 760nm
On sale: 2026
Price: Not announced yet
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books
