US jobless rate climbs from 5-year low

Employers added more workers than projected in February, indicating the US economy is starting to bounce back from a weather-induced setback. The jobless rate climbed from a five-year low.

The 175,000 gain in employment followed a revised 129,000 increase the prior month that was bigger than initially estimated, Labour Department figures showed yesterday in Washington. The median forecast of economists in a Bloomberg survey called for a 149,000 advance in February. Unemployment rose to 6.7% from 6.6% as more people entered the labour force and couldn’t find work.

The report indicates employers remain upbeat about the economy’s prospects after winter storms and freezing temperatures across the eastern US slowed consumer spending, housing and manufacturing.