February’s Strong Jobs Report Should Ease Recession Worries

February’s strong jobs report indicates there’s no sign of slowing in the labor market and should put talk of recession further in the background, according to one economist. The economy created 242,000 new jobs in February, and job gains for the prior two months were revised upward. But average hourly earnings did slip after strong gains in January. ‘We’d like to see stronger wage growth, stronger income growth, to power consumer spending,’ said Gus Faucher, Deputy Chief Economist at PNC. Faucher said on the plus side, more workers are finding full-employment after being employed part-time. He adds he doesn’t expect the Federal Reserve will raise rates in March following the strong data, but expects another increase in June.