United States: Employment tumbles in February
Latest reading: U.S. payrolls fell by 92,000 in February 2026, marking the largest monthly decline in four months. This followed a downwardly revised increase of 126,000 in January and came in far weaker than expectations for a gain of 59,000 jobs.
Employment in the health care sector declined, largely due to strike-related disruptions. Job cuts also continued in the information sector and the federal government, with additional declines in transportation and warehousing as well as manufacturing. In contrast, employment in social assistance continued to grow. Finally, the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4% in February from 4.3% in January.
Panelist insight: Digging into the data, Nomura analysts said:
“In our view, much of the weakness this month was negative payback following the positive overshoot in January. Sectors that outperformed in January slowed sharply in this month’s report. Importantly, a broad range of employment indicators have continued to demonstrate steady progress in recent months, including ADP private employment growth, household survey employment, and service sector surveys.”