 "US added 151,000 jobs in February but sees unemployment tick up in first report of Trump’s new term")
The US added 151,000 jobs in February, while the unemployment rate edged up to 4.1 per cent from 4 per cent the month before in the first jobs report of President Donald Trump’s second term.
According to The Hill report, the monthly employment report, released on Friday by the Labour Department, showed that the job market remains steady despite growing economic concerns and declining consumer confidence.
Most economists had forecast a solid gain of 150,000 jobs, along with a slight rise in the unemployment rate for February. However, experts were wary of a potentially disappointing report after weeks of sluggish economic indicators, widespread federal layoffs, and the effects of Trump’s new tariffs, added the report.
Concerns were further heightened by a significant surge in corporate layoffs reported by employment firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas.
The firm revealed that US companies cut more than 172,000 jobs in February — the highest monthly total since July 2020 and the largest number of layoffs for February since 2009.
While February’s report marks another solid month of job gains and a continuation of a historic expansion of the labour market, whether that continues, however, remains to be seen.
Several economists observed that the impact of federal worker losses due to staffing cuts by the Trump administration had not yet appeared in the labour data.
“The federal layoffs we’ve been hearing so much about will begin showing up in next month’s release,” The Hill quoted Elizabeth Renter, an economist at NerdWallet, as saying in a commentary.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsKevin Rinz, a senior fellow and research adviser at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, agreed, saying that “the degree to which layoffs at federal agencies and cuts to federal contracts have actually taken place so far is difficult to discern.”
“It is unlikely that effects on private sector employment will show up in this report,” he told The Hill.
January jobs numbers were revised down by 18,000 to 125,000 added to the economy, while December figures were revised up by 16,000 to 323,000 jobs.
The health care sector added 52,000 jobs, financial activities contributed 21,000, and transportation and warehousing saw an increase of 18,000 jobs, reported The Hill
Reactions from economists were mixed. Some highlighted the strong payroll numbers, while others noted a slight rise in the unemployment rate.
“The solid expansion in payrolls in February highlights that the negative impact of tariff hikes and policy uncertainty on economic activity at the macro level is not going to be felt for quite a while,” Brian Coulton, chief economist at Fitch Ratings, told The Hill.
In contrast, Joe Gaffoglio, CEO of Mutual of America Capital Management, expressed concern.
“The labour market is showing signs of weakness with hiring across sectors. Deteriorating indicators like hiring intentions, new job listings, and temporary staffing suggest a potential slowdown in employment growth,” Gaffoglio was quoted as saying.
Wages increased by 0.3 per cent in the month to an average of $35.93 per hour, up 4 per cent year-over-year and 3.6 per cent over the last three months.
The U-6 unemployment rate, which includes part-time workers and those marginally attached to the labor force, rose to 8 per cent, its highest level since 2021.
Economic warning signs persist, including inflation climbing back to a 3 per cent annual increase and the Atlanta Fed predicting negative GDP growth in the first fiscal quarter of 2025.
Moreover, consumer sentiment has weakened, leading to a pullback in spending.
With inputs from agencies
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