US employment growth accelerated in February

US employment growth accelerated in February and the jobless rate fell to a more than six-and-a-half-year low of 5.5%, signs that could encourage the Federal Reserve to consider hiking interest rates in June.

Non-farm payrolls rose 295,000 last month after rising 239,000 in January, the Labour Department said yesterday. The job gains came despite disruptive weather conditions that took hold across large parts of the country in mid-February.

The decline in the unemployment rate from 5.7% in January took it to its lowest level since May 2008 and near what many Fed officials consider to be full employment.