WASHINGTON, D.C. — The number of unemployed persons (7.9 million) and the unemployment rate (5.5 percent) dropped for the second consecutive month in February, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reported today. To be specific, 66,000 new jobs were created in February, following losses that averaged 146,000 a month since March 2001. The February gains were the largest one-month employment increase since February 2000.
This information contributed to Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's optimistic outlook on Mar. 7, when he told Congress the economic recovery "is already well under way."
Greenspan, who predicted this recession will be the mildest in U.S. history, was especially pleased to see the economy grow 1.4 percent in January after contracting 1.3 percent since Sept. 11.
Greenspan went on to caution people not to expect a dramatic economic rebound since consumers maintained fairly consistent levels of spending throughout the recession, as opposed to past recessions that created significant pent-up purchasing demand among Americans.
And while the warm winter weather has disappointed many landscape contractors who profit from their snow removal services, the industry may see demand for landscape services pick up thanks to this winter as the construction industry added 25,000 jobs last month.