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The U.S. economy lost 92,000 jobs and the unemployment rate rose to 4.4 percent in February, the Labor Department said Friday. Economists had forecast the economy would add 55,000 jobs and a steady unemployment rate at 4.
3 percent. The prior month’s employment gain was adjusted down to 126,000 from 130,000. Health care employment declined by 28,000 in February, reflecting a major strike by healthcare workers in January. The Department of Labor said that offices of physicians lost 37,000 jobs in February, “primarily due to strike activity.” Hospitals, on the other hand, added 12,000 jobs. Over the prior 12 months, health care added anTech employment continued to decline, likely reflecting the influence of artificial intelligence. In February, payrolls shrank by 11,000. On average, the information sector shed 5,000 jobs per month over the prior 12 months. Transportation and warehousing employment fell by 11,000. Manufacturing jobs fell by 12,000. Construction lost 11,000 jobs. Leisure and hospitality payrolls contracted by 27,000, the second consecutive month of losses. Retail and wholesale trade added a small number of jobs. Finance was the strongest sector, adding 10,000 jobs for the month. The Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the federal government continued to cause payrolls to decline, with employment falling by 10,000. Since reaching aThe labor market in the U.S. has experienced a significant shift away from dependence on an immigration-driven workforce. Jobs numbers that may seem anemic compared with recent years may actually indicate healthy—even robust—growth under current conditions, according to economists. Many economists now estimate the so-called “break-even” rate of job growth—the rate required to keep unemployment from rising—may be as low as 30,000 and could hit zero later this year. By contrast, when immigration was running at higher levels from 2021 through 2024, the economy needed to add more than 100,000 jobs monthly to keep pace with labor-force growth. Retirements are also driving down the growth of the labor force, as an increasing number of members of the large baby boom generation leave work and, later, smaller generations fail to fully replace them. Last year, job growth was held back by the Trump administration’s focus on shrinking government payrolls, part of its program to “reprivatize” the U.S. economy. U.S. productivity growth has accelerated, indicating that America is producing more despite a slowdown in hiring. In the fourth quarter, nonfarm business productivity—output per hour worked—rose at an annual rate of 2.8 percent. That followed an upward revision showing productivity grew at a 5.2 percent rate in the third quarter. Revisions to prior estimates show that, over the current business cycle beginning in the fourth quarter of 2019, nonfarm business productivity has grown at a 2.2 percent annualized rate—faster than the 1.5 percent pace of the 2007 through 2019 business cycle. The recent pace is roughly in line with the long-run historical average going back to the post-World War II era. The estimate for December was revised down by 65,000, from a gain of 48,000 to a loss of 17,000. Combined with the downward revision for January, employment in the months prior to February was 69,000 lower. Jobs figures can be volatile month to month. Many economists look to the three-month average for a view on the underlying strength of the labor market. On average, the economy has added just 5,667 jobs since December. The private sector has added an average of around 18,000 jobs during the three-month period. Wages climbed at a rapid pace, rising 0.4 percent, despite the payroll contraction. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.8 percent. In February, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 0.3 percent. The average workweek for was unchanged at 34.3 hours. In manufacturing, the average workweek edged down by 0.1 hour to 40.1 hours, and overtime was unchanged at 3.0 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.8 hours. The weaker-than-expected jobs figures for February could put pressure on the Federal Reserve to ease monetary policy by cutting interest rates and indicating that the central bank will put rates on a lower path going forward. Long-term interest rates, including mortgage rates, tend to reflect the expected path of the Fed’s benchmark rate. Yields on the two-year Treasury fell on Friday after the jobs estimate was released. The 10-year yield, however, was mostly unchanged.Kristi Noem Out: Trump Picks Sen. Markwayne Mullin as ReplacementDem Rep. Dean on Iran Strike Numbers Falling: Not ‘What This Is All About’Trump Administration to Battle Gas Prices amid War with IranActor James Woods Blasts Democrats: ‘If you Support Mutilating 5-Year-Olds Because They Like the Color Pink, You’re Just a Monster’Pedro Pascal Fan Club Revokes Actor’s Woke Status Over Rumors He Might Be Dating Zionist Man, Dined at Pro-Israel RestaurantMurphy: Trump Is ‘Not Leveling with Us’ — Iran Will Likely Be ‘Incredibly Long, Active War’
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