File photo: CGTN

The US economy produced another blockbuster hiring spree in February, adding 273,000 new jobs, and the January figure was revised up to show the same increase, the Labor Department reported Friday.

The back-to-back surges blew away all expectations, even accounting for the mild winter weather that allowed for construction firms to get a head start on building with two months of strong hiring, according to the data.

The hiring put the unemployment rate at 3.5 percent, dipping from 3.6 percent in January.