It was a relatively quiet week for mortgage markets. The most highly anticipated economic news, the key labor market report, was roughly in line with expectations overall. Mortgage rates ended the week a little higher. 

The unemployment rate held steady at 3.6%, just above the lowest level since 1969. Average hourly earnings, an indicator of wage growth, were an impressive 5.2% higher than a year ago, down from an even larger annual rate of increase of 5.5% last month. In a separate report released on Wednesday, job openings remained near record levels above 11 million, over 4 million more than in January 2020. In short, the labor market remains extremely tight. 

A couple of other significant economic indicators released this week from the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) remained at high levels by historical standards. The national services sector index came in at 55.9 and the national manufacturing index at 56.1. Levels above 50 indicate that the sectors are expanding. Investors are watching to see if consumers will shift to purchasing more services and fewer goods in coming months.