U.S. Lost 92,000 Jobs in February
From The Hill: The U.S. lost 92,000 jobs in February and the jobless rate rose to 4.4 percent, according to data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The February jobs report showed the nation’s labor market rapidly losing steam last month, defying the expectations of experts. Economists expected the U.S. to have gained roughly 60,000 jobs last month, with an unemployment rate of 4.4 percent, according to consensus estimates.
Economists were expecting a net gain of 60,000 jobs last month, a sharp slowdown from January’s surprisingly strong total, which likely overestimated hiring because of some one-time factors such as weather. January’s job gains were revised down to 126,000 from 130,000 jobs.
December’s estimated job gains of 48,000 were revised down to a loss of 17,000 jobs. The US economy has shed jobs in five out of the past nine months. And since May (the first month after President Donald Trump announced his biggest wave of tariffs), the labor market has lost 19,000 jobs, BLS data shows.
