* Payrolls rise 192,000, private jobs up 222,000 * Jobless rate dips to 8.9 percent from 9 percent * Average workweek steady at 34.2 hours, earnings edge up
By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters) – U.S. employers hired more workers in February than in any month since May last year and the unemployment rate fell to a near two-year low, raising hopes the economic recovery has gathered critical momentum. Non farm payrolls increased 192,000, the Labor Department said on Friday,above market expectations for 185,000 jobs. Data for December and January was revised to show 58,000 more jobs created than previously estimated. The peak of monthly employment last May was when payrolls were being boosted by government hiring for a census. The unemployment rate dipped to 8.9 percent, the lowest since April 2009,from 9.0 percent in January as more people reported finding work. “We have moved into the expansion phase of the economic cycle and the economy is self-sustaining,” said Brian Levitt, an economist at Oppenheimer Funds in New York. Still, February’s bounce in employment after payrolls were depressed by extreme weather in January is unlikely to sway the Federal Reserve from its ultra-easy monetary policies. The jobless rate has dropped 0.9 percentage point since November. The rate is derived from a survey of households, while the job creation figure comes from a separate survey of employers. The household survey showed more people were employed in February.