Hiring at Nine-Year High, Labor Department Says

(CN) - U.S. hiring jumped to a nine-year high in February, the U.S. Dept. of Labor Statistics announced Tuesday.

In all, 5.4 million found jobs, a 5.8 percent increase from January and the most since November 2006.

The biggest jump was in the retail sector, followed by accommodations and food services, educational services, and state and local government (excluding education).

Much of the growth occurred in the South, the agency said.

Tuesday's figures track total hiring. On Friday the bureau released its monthly jobs report for March which showed employers added 215,000 during the month.

The report also showed that the unemployment rate rose to 5 percent from 4.9 percent in month, but analysts attributed the gain to more people seeking work, which they said is a further sign of the economy's robustness.

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