The United States unexpectedly lost 92,000 jobs in February, while the revision of December data led to a negative trend, indicating a continued weakening of the labor market amid political uncertainty and geopolitical disagreements.
Analysts had expected an increase in the number of jobs by about 60,000, according to a survey by Trading Economics, so Friday's report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on the decline in employment is perceived as a shock. January's data was revised down by 4,000 jobs to 126,000, while December's was revised down by 65,000, resulting in a loss of 17,000 jobs this month.
The U.
S. economy has been hit by President Donald Trump's harsh application of tariffs to extract trade and diplomatic concessions, a partial government shutdown, and high inflation that deters low-income households from spending. Companies are generally reluctant to hire amid ongoing uncertainty, and the latest war in the Middle East is only fueling energy market inflation and political uncertainty.
The unemployment rate rose from 4.3% last month to 4.4%, but remains at a historically low level. The average hourly wage rose 3.8% in February from a year earlier, compared with 3.7% in the previous month.
The number of jobs in the healthcare sector, which has been leading in recent months, fell by 28,000 in February due to strikes in some hospitals, after rising by 77,000 in January. Medical institutions lost 37,000 jobs, also mainly due to strikes.
The number of jobs in the federal government decreased by 10,000 last month and stands at 330,000 since peaking in October 2024.
Manufacturing shed 12,000 jobs last month, while car production declined by 1,600. The number of manufacturing jobs that Trump has promised to revive with tariffs has dropped by 98,000 since February 2025 and is at its lowest level in four years. Last month, the number of jobs in construction decreased by 11,000. Mining has decreased by 2,000 people.
Transportation and warehousing lost 11,000 jobs, while air transport grew by 5,000.
Financial activity increased the number of jobs by 10,000 after losing 30,000 in the previous month. The leisure and hospitality sector lost 27,000 people after 12,000 losses in the previous month.
