US EditionWhat to expect in Friday’s jobs report
February hiring slowed to an estimated 60,000 jobs amid a health-care strike, severe storms, and annual Census revisions, reflecting broader economic uncertainty and labor supply challenges.
- On Friday morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the February jobs report at 8:30 a.m., with economists expecting around 60,000 jobs added, down from January's 130,000.
- Recent shocks to the economy — a Supreme Court trade decision, AI-related layoffs and a new war in the Middle East — have heightened employer caution.
- Roughly 31,000 health‑care workers on strike during the survey week ended on February 23 likely distorted payroll data, with 48,307 announced job cuts last month, a 55% drop, and 11,039 cuts in the technology sector.
- Small firms such as ValenSil have pulled back expansion, cutting shifts and staffing plans; Bank of America forecasts a below‑consensus payroll gain of 35,000 while the unemployment rate is expected to hold at 4.3%, with wage growth outpacing inflation.
- Most payroll gains have been concentrated in health care, with 82,000 health‑care and 42,000 social assistance jobs added in January, reflecting a low‑hire, low‑fire labor‑market characterization.
15 Articles
15 Articles
The Job Market Delivers A Surprise Economists Didn’t See Coming
The job market just delivered a reality check. Instead of the job gains economists were expecting, the U.S. economy lost 92,000 jobs in February, according to new federal data. Forecasters had predicted employers would add about 50,000 jobs. The unemployment rate also ticked up to 4.4%, signaling the labor market may be cooling after several years of strong hiring. The weaker-than-expected report comes as businesses face a mix of economic uncert…
By Alicia Wallace, CNN. The economic uncertainty linked to President Donald Trump's signature trade policies has led many small businesses to lay off workers, delay expansion plans, or reduce production. ValenSil Technologies, for example, was growing steadily toward 2025. The Avon, Ohio-based aerosol filling company expanded its manufacturing footprint, added a second shift, and increased its staff to 47, nearly tripling its size. At the rate b…
The latest data from the US labor market surprised analysts who had predicted either an increase or a slight decline in jobs. Instead, the number of jobs fell by 92,000 in February, and the unemployment rate rose to 4.4%. The increase in factory employment promised by Donald Trump remains elusive.
Revelio Public Labor Statistics Reports 17k U.S. Jobs Shed in February, as Job Creation is Weakest since 2020 Pandemic - News & Photo Features
The impact of trump’s policies is most clearly seen in the decline in Leisure-Hospitality jobs, second biggest drop, -27,300, after retail, -34,600, due to his tariffs, visa policies, bans on travel, antagonism to countries (especially Canada), his immigration roundups/deportations. A human-intensive industry and one of the nation’s biggest employers, travel and hospitality employs one in eight people. © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com The …
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