This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Construction companies hired. So did accounting businesses ahead of income tax season. And restaurants. Even state and local governments.
Despite severe winter weather, U.S. employers added 175,000 jobs in February, and the unemployment rate inched up to 6.7 percent from 6.6 percent, the Labor Department said Friday. Those gains defied fears that tough winter weather might have sent hiring into hibernation.
Hiring had slowed in recent months, with just 129,000 jobs added in January and 84,000 in December.
Companies involved in accounting services added 15,700 jobs in February ahead of the IRS' April filing deadline. Restaurants and bars hired 21,200 wait staff, cooks, cashiers, bartenders and dishwashers.
Local governments added 8,000. Education workers at the state level increased by 10,000. Heavy and civil engineering construction contributed most of the 15,000 building jobs.
Some sectors of the economy didn't benefit. Retailers shed jobs for a second straight month after the end of the holiday shopping season. And Hollywood might have celebrated the best movies last weekend at the Academy Awards, but the industry let go of 14,100 workers.