Let’s be cautious about the jobs report. And what lies ahead.

First, the news:

Bolstered by a healthier private sector, the United States economy gained 236,000 jobs in February, well above what had been expected, while the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent, its lowest level since December 2008.

BUT…as Dean Baker remind us:

The unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent, but this drop was primarily attributable to a decline in labor force participation.The employment-to-population ratio was unchanged at 58.6 percent, exactly the same as the rate in February of 2012 and just 0.4 percentage points above the low hit in the summer of 2011. The 54.8 percent employment-to-population ratio for women is just 0.2 percentage points above the low hit last month.

The 236,000 new jobs reported for February are a good sign and better than generally expected, but there is the risk that this is being driven by unusually good winter weather. This could lead to a situation like we saw last year with very weak job growth in the spring as the result of hiring being pulled forward.

I would add that we don’t know the full extent of the stupid cutting of the government’s budget, and the hit people, and communities, are going to take. And, as I always note, the total number of jobs created rarely is also coupled with a discussion on the QUALITY of jobs: what do these new jobs pay, do they come with health care (probably not or bare bones) or pensions (probably not, and certainly not real pensions).