Unemployment Drops to 7.7%, lowest since Dec. '08...

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the the unemployment rate in the US dropped to 7.7% for February. The unemployment rate had ticked up slightly to 7.9% in January. This is the lowest  rate the country has seen since December of 2008, the last full month of  George W. Bush administration and the month following the election of Barack Obama into office for his first term.

The improvement came across several job sectors including retail, healthcare, construction and information services.

Here's several stories on the new numbers. Make of the numbers and these opinions, what you will. Keep in mind, there's still roughly twelve million people unemployed in the US, many for a substantial period of time, during which skills erode, technology advances, prospects look grim for the long term unemployed (27 weeks or more). The long term unemployed make up over 40% of the total unemployed in the country.

You can read the actual Bureau Summary here.

You can read the actual labor report here.

What the White House is saying here.

Wall Street Journal coverage here.

NBC News coverage here.

Fox News coverage here.

Newsmax coverage here.

Sources:

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2013/03/08/live-from-new-york-its-jobs-friday-23/?mod=e2tw

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economywatch/unemployment-rate-drops-lowest-four-years-1C8767810

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/08/unemployment-rate-falls-to-77-percent-in-february/?test=latestnews

http://www.newsmax.com/Economy/Jobs-Unemployment-rate-payrolls/2013/03/08/id/493792