(GNB, Washington DC): The Labor Department reported Friday that total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 379,000 in February, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 6.2 percent. That compared with expectations of 210,000 new jobs and the unemployment rate holding steady from the 6.3% rate in January.
The labor market continued to reflect the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
In February, most of the job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, with smaller gains in temporary help services, health care and social assistance, retail trade, and manufacturing. Employment declined in state and local government education, construction, and mining, The Labor Department reported.
Both the unemployment rate, at 6.2 percent, and the number of unemployed persons, at
10.0 million, changed little in February. Although both measures are much lower than
their April 2020 highs, they remain well above their pre-pandemic levels in February 2020 (3.5 percent and 5.7 million, respectively), report read.
Here were the main metrics from the report, compared to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg:
- Non-farm payrolls: +379,000 vs. +200,000 expected and a revised +166,000 in January
- Unemployment rate: 6.2% vs. 6.3% expected and 6.3% in January
- Average hourly earnings, month-over-month: 0.2% vs. 0.2% expected and a revised 0.1% in January.
- Average hourly earnings, year-over-year: 5.3% vs. 5.3% expected and a revised 5.3% in January.
The February jobs report also included a notable upward revision to payrolls gains in January, but a downward revision to losses in December. January’s payroll gain was revised to 166,000, up from the tepid rise of 49,000 previously reported. However, December’s payroll losses – the first since April — were revised to 306,000, from the drop of 227,000 reported earlier. Altogether, the U.S. economy remains about 9.5 million payrolls short of its pre-pandemic levels.
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