Job growth steady, wages keep rising

And the Hoover economy continues to rock....

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. employers added a stronger-than-forecast 243,000 jobs in February and average hourly pay posted the largest annual increase in 4-1/2 years, the Labor Department said on Friday in a report likely to keep inflation concerns simmering.

The monthly report showed the unemployment rate edged up to 4.8 percent from 4.7 percent in January. Economists had forecast that 210,000 jobs would be created in February and that the unemployment rate would hold steady.

The February job gain followed a revised 170,000 new jobs in January that had originally been reported as 193,000. Employers have increased their payrolls every month for the past 2-1/2 years, an indication that economic growth is vigorous enough to keep policy-makers on edge about the possibility of inflationary wage and price rises.