Economy creates a healthy 235,000 jobs in February

Employers added another burst of new jobs last month and stepped up the rate of pay for workers - a one-two punch that makes it likely that the Federal Reserve will nudge up interest rates next week.

Job growth totaled 235,000 in February, well above analysts' expectations and on par with the payroll gains in January.

The nation's unemployment rate dropped a notch to 4.7 percent, the Labor Department said Friday. Those figures do not include people who have stopped looking for work or have cycled out of the system, among others.

The strong report reflects the rising confidence seen among businesses since late last year, despite the long period of relatively sluggish economic growth and a lot of uncertainties in the outlook.

The unseasonably warm winter through much of the country probably helped boost hiring. The construction sector bulked up by 58,000 jobs, the most in a decade.

Manufacturers added a strong 28,000 jobs. There also were solid job gains in educational services, health care and professional businesses. The one sector that did not do well was retail trade, which shed 26,000 jobs last month.

Companies in manufacturing and other industries, including small businesses, have become more optimistic, at least in part from expectations that favorable tax and regulatory policies will be coming from the Trump administration.

The unemployment rate now has been below 5 percent for 10 straight months.

Friday's jobs report is the last major piece of economic data before the Federal Reserve Board's scheduled policy meeting Tuesday and Wednesday. Even before Friday, Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen had signaled that the central bank was poised to lift its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point next week, to a still-low range of 0.75 percent to 1 percent.

The new employment rate report would suggest that is almost a done deal, barring any unforeseen disastrous event.