Employers created more jobs than expected in February, the government reported Friday, pushing the US unemployment rate down to 7.7 percent, its lowest level in four years.

The 236,000 new jobs were well ahead of forecasts, signaling broad improvement in the economy, with the strongest hiring in business and professional services, construction, and health care, according to the US Department of Labor. They helped bring the unemployment rate down from 7.9 percent in January.