US Nonfarm Payroll Declines by 92,000 in February; Unemployment at 4.4%

On Friday, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that total nonfarm payroll employment declined by 92,000 in February, following an increase of 126,000 in January.

The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4%, with 7.6 million people unemployed.

Job losses in February were concentrated in several sectors:

• Health care shed 28,000 jobs after adding 77,000 in January.
• The information sector continued to trend down, losing 11,000 jobs.
• Federal government employment declined by 10,000. Since peaking in October 2024, federal government employment has fallen by 330,000 jobs, or 11.0%.
• Transportation and warehousing employment declined by 11,000.

These losses were partly offset by gains in social assistance, which added 9,000 jobs, reflecting continued growth in individual and family services.

Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade; financial activities; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; and other services.

Monthly Revisions

Revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimate and from recalculations of seasonal factors.

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for December was revised down by 65,000, from a gain of 48,000 to a loss of 17,000, and the change for January was revised down by 4,000, from 130,000 to 126,000. With these revisions, employment in December and January combined is 69,000 lower than previously reported.