Unemployment Dips to 8.9 Percent, 192K Jobs Added

By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Employers hired in February at the fastest pace in almost a year and the unemployment rate fell to 8.9 percent -- a nearly two-year low.

The economy added 192,000 jobs last month, with factories, professional and business services, education and health care among those expanding employment. Retailers, however, trimmed jobs. State and local governments, wrestling with budget shortfalls, slashed 30,000 jobs, the most since November. Federal government hiring was flat.