The U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 7.6% in February, reaching a two-year high, according to a March 8 report from Forbes.
While the U.S. added 275,000 jobs during the month, surpassing its estimate of 200,000, the unemployment rate surpassed its 3.7% forecast, coming in at the highest level since January 2022.
Average hourly wages rose by 0.1% from January to February, well below January's 0.6% month-over-month growth and February's estimates of 0.3%, the report said.