US Nonfarm Payroll Increases by 275,000 in February; Unemployment Climbs to 3.9%

On Friday, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 275,000 in February. This is above the average monthly gain of 230,000 over the prior 12 months.

In February, job growth was widespread, with notable increases in the following sectors:

• Health care added 67,000 jobs, above the average gain of 58,000 over the prior 12-month period.
• Government employment increased by 52,000 jobs, about the same as the prior 12-month average increase of 53,000.
• Food service and drinking establishments employment increased by 42,000 after changing little over the prior 3 months.
• Social assistance added 24,000 jobs, about the same as the prior 12-month average gain of 23,000.
• Transportation and warehousing employment rose by 20,000, following 3 consecutive monthly of declines.
• Construction employment continued its upward trajectory, adding 23,000 jobs—in line with the average monthly gain of 18,000 over the prior 12-month period.
• Retail trade employment changed little, adding 19,000 positions, and has shown little net change over the past 12-month period.

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

In February, the unemployment rate increased 0.2% to a reading of 3.9%, and the number of unemployed people increased by 334,000 to 6.5 million. A year earlier, the jobless rate was 3.6%, and the number of unemployed people was 6.0 million.

Revisions

The BLS notes that monthly revisions result from additional reports received from businesses and government agencies since the last published estimate and from recalculations of seasonal factors. As a result, the change in total nonfarm payroll employment for December was revised downward by 43,000 to 290,000. The change for January was revised downward by 124,000 to 229,000. With these revisions, employment in December and January combined is 167,000 lower than previously reported.