The US economy added more new jobs in February than in any month in over a year as robust hiring picked up in construction, retail and manufacturing.

Employers across the United States created 313,000 new non-farm jobs last month, marking the biggest monthly increase since July 2016.

The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.1 percent for the fifth month in a row, the Labor Department said in its highly anticipated February report.

The results provided encouragement for US President Donald Trump whose "America First" policy appeared to be on shaky ground lately, with criticism of high tariffs on steel and aluminum imports also coming from his own party.

Moderate wage hikes

On top of the exceptionally strong employment figures in February, job gains in December and January were revised up by a combined 54,000, bringing average monthly job creation to 242,000 for the latest three months.

Hourly wages gained 0.2 percent in February, matching analysts' expectations.

The goods-producing sector added 100,000 jobs, while the private services sector created 187,000 new positions.

By contrast, the public sector gained only 26,000, with hiring added in education and at the state government level.

hg/mm (AFP, Reuters)