The U.S. Non-Farm Payroll report was released on Friday and the numbers didn’t disappoint.

Total non-farm payroll employment increased by 242,000 in February of 2016, higher than an upwardly revised 172,000 in the previous month and beating market expectations of 190,000. Employment gains occurred in health care and social assistance, retail trade, food services and private educational services, while the mining sector continued its downward trend. The U.S. jobless rate now stands at just 4.9%. Wages, however, fell by 0.1% month-on-month.

Non-Farm Payrolls in the United States is reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The employment report is released monthly usually on the first Friday of every month, and has a strong effects on the US dollar, the bond market and the stock market.

The numbers are crunched by the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program of the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics that surveys about 141,000 businesses and government agencies, representing approximately 486,000 individual work sites and collects detailed industry data on employment, hours, and earnings of workers on non-farm payrolls.

January’s figures have also been revised higher too, to show 172,000 new hires (up from 151k originally). However, in a separate report, data showed that the trade deficit widened to $45.7 billion in the same month below the $44 billion estimated, as a strong dollar and weak global demand helped push exports to a near six-year low.

TOTAL NON-FARM PAYROLL EMPLOYMENT INCREASED BY 242,000 IN FEBRUARY…, HIGHER THAN AN UPWARDLY REVISED 172,000 IN THE PREVIOUS MONTH.

Global Markets Up on Data

Stock markets worldwide edged higher as investor concerns about a weakening global economy eased on the payroll data, followed by encouraging data from major economies.

Wall Street closed higher on Thursday as the energy sector moved into positive territory for the year and crude prices rallied to near $36 a barrel. Futures showed the Dow (DIA) up 77 pts, the S&P (SPY) 9.5 pts and the Nasdaq (QQQ) higher by 27 pts.