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Unemployment Rate Falls to Lowest Level in 4 Years

Posted at 10:08 AM, Mar 08, 2013
and last updated 2013-03-08 10:09:51-05

NEW YORK – The unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since December 2008.

According to a Labor Department report released Friday, the U.S. economy added 236,000 jobs in February.

That’s much stronger growth than in January, when employers hired a revised 119,000 workers.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate dipped to 7.7%, as 12 million workers were counted as unemployed.

The unemployment rate fell partly because more people said they got jobs, but also because 130,000 people dropped out of the labor force.