WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has reported that the U.S. economy lost 92,000 jobs in February, compared to the previously estimated gain of roughly 50,000 by Dow Jones economists, according to CNBC. Meanwhile, the U.S. unemployment rate slightly increased to 4.4 percent. The BLS has also downwardly revised the December job gains from +48,000 to -17,000, a difference of 65,000. With the revision, the U.S. economy has now posted job losses in three of the past five months. (The BLS also revised January’s gains but only slightly, from +130,000 to +126,000 jobs.)
The healthcare sector, which has been the primary growth driver in payrolls, saw a loss of 28,000 jobs in February, largely due to a strike at Kaiser Permanente in Hawaii and California. Offices of physicians lost 37,000 jobs in February, while hospitals added 12,000 jobs.
Information services also lost jobs (-11,000), as part of a 12-month trend in which the sector has forfeited an average of 5,000 jobs per month, CNBC reported. Additionally, federal government employment declined by 10,000 for the month, and is down by 330,000 jobs since October 2024.
The BLS reports that transportation and warehousing saw a reduction (-11,000), with the sector declining by 157,000 jobs, or 2.4 percent, since reaching a peak in February 2025. A job loss in couriers and messengers (-17,000) was partially offset by a gain in air transportation (+5,000).
Social assistance was one of the few sectors posting a positive gain in February (+9,000).
Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade; financial activities; professional and business services; and leisure and hospitality.