Labor/Economy

The U.S. government filed formal settlement papers in federal court regarding the massive mortgage lending abuse case, thus breaking down which of the five miscreant mortgage lenders pays how much.

The U.S. private sector carried the entire load of creating jobs in February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday, with private payroll employment increasing by a net of 233,000 positions.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday that the economy created 227,000 jobs in February, which is strong but somewhat less strong than during January, which saw a hiring environment that created 243,000 jobs.

In the most closely watched private employment estimate, payroll specialist ADP Employer Services reported on Wednesday that the U.S. private sector added 216,000 jobs in February.

The People’s Republic of China, whose economy has been mostly out of the news in recent months was suddenly back in the news on Monday, when the government lowered its GDP target to 7.5 percent from 8 percent.

With the coming of a new month, new jobs numbers will soon be published, with trends in hiring of high interest to anyone concerned with the direction of the economy (which is almost everyone).

Initial unemployment claims for the week ending Feb. 25 edged down 2,000 to 351,000, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.