US adds 295,000 jobs in February 2015

According to Labor Department figures, the US economy added 295,000 jobs in February 2015, while the unemployment rate fell to 5.5% from 5.7%.

It was the 12th month running that the economy added more than 200,000 jobs, the longest such run since 1994.

The stronger-than-expected jobs figure led to a jump in the value of the dollar.

Markets are now speculating that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates in June this year.

The Labor Department figure showed there were job gains in a number of sectors including construction, health care, and transportation.

There were also job gains in food and drinks outlets, professional and business services, and warehousing. However, employment in mining was down over the month.

The figure for the number of jobs created in January was revised down from 257,000 to 239,000.

In February, average hourly earnings for all employees on private non-farm payrolls rose by 3 cents to $24.78, with earnings up by 2% over the year.

The labor force participation rate fell to 62.8% from 62.9%, as more people made themselves available for work.

The strong jobs data is likely to raise expectations that the Federal Reserve will be looking at raising interest rates sooner rather than later.