The national unemployment rate for February stayed at 9.7 percent, according to a report released Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Approximately 36,000 jobs were lost nationwide in February. The report said both the health and manufacturing sectors saw limited growth.
According to a statement from U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, the report shows there is still work to be done to recover jobs in most sectors. She said the current economic trend shows fewer jobs are lost per month ""bringing us closer to consistent job growth.""
Solis said snowstorms on the east coast during February likely contributed to limiting economic activity.
""Any one month's estimates are subject to problems and unforeseen circumstances like this, which is why it is important that we look at the trend,"" she said in the statement.
In the midst of the release of February's unemployment numbers, Congress passed legislation that gives companies who hire unemployed individuals a temporary payroll tax break. The $35 billion bill, passed Thursday, has been criticized for not creating job-training programs or generating methods of job creation.
The report on Wisconsin's unemployment rates for January and February is due later this month. The unemployment rate was last reported at 8.7 percent in December 2009 by the DWD.
—Hannah Furfaro
