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White House's Spicer: Trump says jobs report 'may have been phony in the past, but it's very real now'

When asked about President Donald Trump's reaction to the stellar jobs report on Friday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer had this to say:

"I talked to the President prior to this [briefing], and he said to quote him for this, '[The jobs reports] may have been phony in the past, but it's very real now.'"

In the first full month of President Trump's term, nonfarm payrolls increased by 235,000 in February, and the unemployment rate was 4.7 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists surveyed by Reuters had expected the economy to add 190,000 jobs and for the unemployment rate to tick down to 4.7 percent.

President Donald Trump, center, smiles as Representative Greg Walden, a Republican from Oregon, right, and Representative Kevin Brady, a Republican from Texas, sit during a discussion on health care in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. U.S., on Friday, March 10, 2017.
Olivier Douliery | Pool via Bloomberg | Getty Images
President Donald Trump, center, smiles as Representative Greg Walden, a Republican from Oregon, right, and Representative Kevin Brady, a Republican from Texas, sit during a discussion on health care in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. U.S., on Friday, March 10, 2017.

These numbers come amid heightened expectations for economic growth, as Republicans push an agenda of tax cuts, less regulation and higher domestic spending.

Following Friday's jobs report, stock market futures moved higher, though government bond yields edged lower.

Market expectations for an interest rate hike next week are climbing on solid economic data. According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, on Friday March rate hike expectations were at 90.8 percent. The Federal Open Market Committee meeting is scheduled for March 14-15.

— CNBC's Jeff Cox contributed to this report.

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