U.S. job market plummets in February: Conference Board

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. job market weakened sharply in February, and has deteriorated over the last year at its worst rate in at least 35 years, a research group said on Monday.

The Conference Board, a private research group, said its Employment Trends Index fell to 91.0 in from a revised 94.0 in January, which was first reported as 96.6.

The index is down 21.7 percent from a year ago, the Conference Board added.

"Over the past year, the Employment Trends Index has declined faster than at any other time in its 35-year history, with the most severe decreases taking place since the fall," said Gad Levanon, senior economist at the conference board.

"As job losses persist, the drop in overall earnings makes a rebound in consumer spending unlikely for the next few months. The decline in employment will only moderate once companies anticipate some revival in domestic and global economic activity."

The report is consistent with government data on Friday that showed the U.S. unemployment rate rose to a 25-year high of 8.1 percent in February as employers, buckling under the strain of a severe recession, axed 651,000 jobs.

Given that investors had already digested grim jobs data last week, financial markets showed little reaction to the Conference Board release.

On Wall Street, stocks were higher. Government bonds, which generally perform well during times of economic weakness, remained weaker on the day.

(Reporting by Burton Frierson; Editing by Tom Hals)