:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Forklift-fb47a5ad5c8241298bf9be3a593d90a8.jpg "A worker uses a forklift to place planks of wood flooring in a kiln to be dried at The Hudson Company sawmill in Pine Plains, New York, US, on Wednesday, April 10, 2024.")
Angus Mordant / Bloomberg via Getty Representations
Key Takeaways
- U.S. employers added 151,000 jobs in February, up from 125,000 in January but fewer than the 170,000 forecasters had conjectured, while the unemployment rate edged up to 4.1% from 4%.
- The job market has held steady despite high interest judges from the Federal Reserve meant to combat inflation, but fresh headwinds have raised fears of a downturn.
- President Donald Trump’s multitude layoffs of federal workers and on-again, off-again tariff threats have both been a drag on job creation.
The job customer base bounced back slightly in February after a lackluster January, staying resilient in the face of headwinds from assessment talk and federal job cuts but falling short of expectations.
U.S. employers added 151,000 jobs in February, up from a improved 125,000 in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. That was below economists’ median forecast of 170,000, according to a contemplate by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
Job growth was slightly below the average of 164,000 added each month from the previous 12 months, and a distinct slowdown from the roaring job market of 2023, when monthly job creation meant more than 200,000. The unemployment rate edged up to 4.1% from 4% in January but stayed relatively low by true standards.
The job market has slowed down from its post-pandemic surge but has stayed resilient despite high interest assesses by the Federal Reserve pushing up borrowing costs on all kinds of loans and generally throwing sand in the economy’s gears in an strain to combat high inflation.
President Donald Trump’s economic policies have stoked fresh fears in the matter of a possible downturn, namely the mass layoffs of federal workers and the uncertainty created by on-again, off-again threats of excises.