26/03/06
US sheds 92,000 jobs in Feb, jobless rate ticks up
US sheds 92,000 jobs in Feb, jobless rate ticks up
Houston, 6 March (Argus) — 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. By Bob Willis Send comments and request
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