NEW YORK, March 8 Reuters The dollar slipped against the euro on Friday after data showed U.S. job growth accelerated in February, but a rise in the unemployment rate and moderation in wage gains kept an anticipated June interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve on the table.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by 275,000 jobs last month, the labor department39;s Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its closely watched employment report on Friday. Data for January was revised down to show 229,000 jobs created instead of 353,000 as previously reported.

The unemployment rate rose to 3.9 in February after holding at 3.7 for three straight months, the data showed.

The market had been getting a little worried, I think, that the Fed was stepping back from being in a position to cut rates soon, particularly given the recent inflation reports, said Stuart Cole, chief economist at Equiti Capital.

Today39;s report should provide some optimism that, even if the scale of loosening will not be as strong as considered at the turn of the year, things are still moving in the right direction to allow the Fed to cut this year, he said.

In the short term at least, I think the dollar will be trading on a softer footing, Cole added.

The euro was 0.07 higher against the dollar at 1.09565, an eightweek high.

The ECB kept rates at record highs of 4.00 on Thursday while cautiously laying the ground to lower them later this year, saying it had made good progress in bringing down inflation.

The…