US: Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 313,000 in February

"Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 313,000 in February, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1 percent," the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this Friday.

The headline NFP print was well above previous month's upwardly revised reading of 239,000 and also bettered consensus estimates pointing to an addition of 205,000 jobs.

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for December was revised up from +160,000 to +175,000, and the change for January was revised up from +200,000 to +239,000. With these revisions, employment gains in December and January combined were 54,000 more than previously reported.

Meanwhile, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 4 cents to $26.75, following a 7-cent gain in January. Over the year, average hourly earnings have increased by 68 cents, or 2.6 percent.