Hiring at US businesses unexpectedly plunged last month as employers shed an estimated 92,000 jobs, according to new data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The unemployment rate edged higher to 4.4% from 4.3% during a month when a major labor strike occurred and a deep cold snap hit many US states.
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.
February’s report was expected to feature a few distortions of its own: The health care employment totals were expected to take a 31,000-job hit from the mid-month Kaiser Permanente nurses strike. (But, since that strike ended February 23, there will be a one-time boost to March’s jobs report).
Also, economists anticipated that a severe cold wave in the early part of the month could weigh on sectors such as construction and leisure and hospitality.
Friday’s report showed that most industries lost jobs. Some of the deeper declines were in health care (down 28,000 jobs); leisure and hospitality (down 27,000 jobs); and construction (down 11,000 jobs).
Stock futures moved lower after the data release. Dow futures were down 376 points, or 0.78%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.83%, and futures tied to the Nasdaq 100 sank 1%. Two-year and 10-year Treasury yields ticked lower as investors moved into bonds. The US dollar weakened against other major currencies. Separately, crude oil was up 6.2%, to $86 per barrel.
This story is developing and will be updated.