US economy adds more jobs than expected in February

Payroll data released today showed the US economy added 273,000 jobs in February, far higher than the gain of 175,000 forecast by economists. Unemployment was slightly lower than expected at 3.5 per cent versus the 3.6 per cent predicted. Overall, the market reaction was fairly muted, with government debt remaining strong and US futures continuing to decline. The figure indicated that employment was holding up as coronavirus concerns grew, though this was before the outbreak intensified, therefore next month`s jobs number will likely be of more interest to market participants.