U.S. Payroll Gain Caps Job Market’s Best Six Months Since 2006

Employers in the U.S. took on more workers than forecast in February, completing the best six months for payroll growth since 2006 and showing more improvement in the labor market.

The 227,000 increase followed a revised 284,000 gain in January that was bigger than first estimated, Labor Department figures showed yesterday in Washington. The median projection of economists in a Bloomberg News survey called for a 210,000 advance. The jobless rate held at a three-year-low of 8.3 percent even as 476,000 more workers sought employment.