The job market slowed last month, but it's still too hot to ease inflation fears

A "Help Wanted" sign is posted at a restaurant in Los Angeles on Feb. 2, 2023. U.S. employers added 311,000 jobs last month, a number that indicates the labor market remains fairly hot. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Hiring cooled last month from its sizzling pace in January, but the U.S. job market remains unusually hot, with an unemployment rate hovering near a half-century low.

Employers added 311,000 jobs in February, according to a report from the Labor Department Friday that will be closely studied by the Federal Reserve.