Unemployment Rate Ticks Higher In February, US Economy Adds Fewer Jobs Than Expected

The February jobs report from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, released Friday, showed a moderate increase in employment and also a slight increase in the unemployment rate. 

The U.S. economy added 151,000 jobs in February, up from a downwardly revised 125,000 in January, but below expectations of 160,000, as tracked by Trading Economics. The unemployment rate ticked unexpectedly higher to 4.1%, above the 4.0% expected. 

Read Next: US Services Sector Unexpectedly Expands In February Despite Slowing Job Growth 

Unemployed individuals increased by 203,000 to 7.05 million, while employment declined by 588,000 to 163.31 million. The labor force participation rate fell to 62.4%, while the employment-population ratio dipped to 59.9%. 

Employment trended up in health care, financial activities, transportation and warehousing and social assistance. Federal government employment declined, possibly reflecting initial DOGE cuts. 

• Employment increased in health care (+52,000), financial activities (+21,000), transportation and warehousing (+18,000), and social assistance (+11,000).
• Federal government employment declined by 10,000.
• Average hourly earnings for all employees increased by 0.3% to $35.93, representing a 4.0% increase over the past 12 months.
• The average workweek remained unchanged at 34.1 hours

Market Reactions

Futures on major U.S. indices rose following the release of the jobs report. 

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY, tracking the S&P 500, was up 0.11% at $573.35 and the Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ, tracking the Nasdaq 100 index, was up 0.29% at $489.60 in premarket trading. 

The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF TLT was 0.5% higher in premarket trading.

Gold, which is tracked by the SPDR Gold Trust GLD, climbed above $2,920 per ounce, approaching record highs. 

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Image generated using artificial intelligence via MidJourney.