In a much anticipated announcement Thursday, the Federal Reserve said it would leave interest rates unchanged. Watch Fed Chair Janet Yellen's press conference on the announcement, scheduled for 2:30 p.m. EDT Thursday, on pbs.org/newshour.

Despite harsh winter weather, the economy added 295,000 jobs in February and the unemployment rate fell to its lowest since mid-2008. Those are signs of a recovering labor market that the Federal Reserve might use to justify an interest rate…