Mortgage rates drop as job growth slows towards sustainable pace

Mortgage rates fell this week despite a better-than-expected jobs report, as the labor market shows signs of normalizing and wage growth concerns ease.

Jobless claims remain low at 212,250, indicating the economy continues expanding without significant job losses.

Total employment has recovered to 157.8 million jobs, nearing pre-pandemic levels earlier than expected.

275,000 jobs were added in February, beating expectations, though gains are slowing towards more sustainable levels of 140-165K per month.

The unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9% as labor market tightness eases, evidenced by cooling wage growth and quit rates.