US employers add 242K jobs in February

While employers bumped payroll ranks by 242,000 jobs in February, the U.S. unemployment rate was flat at 4.9 percent.

The jobless rate was not seasonally adjusted, according to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics news release.

Employment gains were led by the health care and social assistance, retail trade, food services and drinking places, and private education industries.

Health care and social assistance employers created 57,000 jobs last month, led by 24,000 positions in health care services and 11,000 in hospitals, according to the release.

Employment in retail trade rose by 55,000 jobs during February. Food and beverage stores added 15,000, while other general merchandise stores hired 13,000.

Employers of food services and drinking places created 40,000 new positions in February. During the past year, the industry has recorded growth of 359,000 jobs, according to the release.

Private educational services employment rose by 28,000 jobs last month. The jobs offset 20,000 cuts in January.

Job losses continued in mining.

The industry lost 19,000 jobs in February, the most of which - 16,000 - came from support activities for mining, according to the BLS.

In February, the number of unemployed was roughly unchanged at 7.8 million. Those marginally attached to the labor force - not working but seeking jobs - declined by 365,000 to 1.8 million compared to a year earlier.