Robust US Job Growth Boosts Economy as Coronavirus Fears Hit Markets

'This was a grand slam home run of a jobs report,' said Robert Johnson, professor of finance at Creighton University

A store advertises that they are hiring in lower Manhattan on June 1, 2018. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

U.S. employers maintained a robust pace of hiring in February, giving the economy a strong boost as it faces headwinds from the coronavirus outbreak.

The Labor Department’s closely watched monthly employment report issued Friday showed that last month, the economy added 273,000 jobs, formally known as “nonfarm payrolls.”