STATE OF BUSINESS: Early Spring

Spring has come early to the U.S. labor force. The Labor Department reported last week that, contrary to the usual seasonal pattern, total U.S. employment in February rose by 500,000 to a record monthly high of 64,520,000. At the same time, unemployment, which usually changes little in February, dropped by 218,000 to 3,931,000, the greatest January-February decline since 1942. The improved job picture brought the seasonally adjusted rate of unemployment down to 4.8%, lowest since October 1957. Seymour L. Wolfbein, Labor Department manpower expert, foresaw further improvement during the next few months. Said he: "We are going to get through...

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