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March 10, 2014 - Non-farm payroll employment went up in February, according to a NAFCU Macro Data Flash, but the unemployment rate also rose from 6.6 percent to 6.7 percent after the labor force expanded.

NAFCU Chief Economist David Carrier analyzed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics from February and found that the biggest payroll increases occurred in the business services and leisure and hospitality sectors. Overall, non-farm payrolls rose by 175,000 in February.

"The labor force participation rate remained at 63 percent for the second month in a row," Carrier wrote. "The unemployment rate ticked up to 6.7 percent as 264,000 individuals entered the labor force." Carrier added that the Federal Reserve will monitor the employment rates as it assesses how much to taper their asset purchase program through 2014.

Private-sector payroll employment went up by 162,000 jobs in February. The business services sector added 79,000 jobs and the leisure and hospitality trade sector added 25,000 jobs.