The US unexpectedly lost 92,000 jobs in February while revisions pulled December data into negative territory, evidence the labor market continues to weaken amid policy uncertainty and geopolitical strife.
Analaysts were expecting about 60,000 job gains, according to a survey from Trading Economics, so Friday's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report of a drop comes is seen as a shock. January's data was revised downward by 4,000 jobs to 126,000 while December's was revised by 65,000, pushing that month to a 17,000 job loss.
The US economy has been buffeted by President Donald Trump's heavy-handed use of tariffs to extract trade and diplomatic concessions, partial government shutdowns and sticky inflation that keeps lower-earning households from spending. Companies have generally been reluctant to hire amid the ongoing uncertainty and the latest war in the Middle East is only fueling energy inflation and policy uncertainty.
The unemployment rate edged up to 4.4pc last month from 4.3pc, but remains at historically low levels. Average hourly earnings rose by 3.8pc in February from a year earlier, compared with 3.7pc in the prior month.
Heath care jobs, a leader in recent months, fell by 28,000 in February, affected by strikes at some hospitals systems, following gains of 77,000 in January. Physician offices lost 37,000 jobs, also mainly on the strikes.
Federal government jobs fell by 10,000 last month and are down by 330,000 since reaching a peak in October 2024.
Manufacturing lost 12,000 jobs last month, with auto manufacturing down by 1,600. Jobs in manufacturing, which Trump has pledged to revive with his use of tariffs, are down by 98,000 since February 2025 and are at their lowest levels in four years. Construction lost 11,000 last month. Mining lost 2,000.
Transportation and warehousing lost 11,000 jobs, even as air transport was up by 5,000.
Financial activities gained 10,000 jobs after losing 30,000 the prior month. Leisure and hospitality lost 27,000 after losses of 12,000 the prior month.
