Overview
- BLS reported a surprise net job loss in February, defying forecasts for gains and a steady 4.3% unemployment rate.
- Revised data downgraded earlier months, showing the U.S. had already shed jobs in December and that January was weaker than first reported.
- A health‑care strike temporarily reduced payroll counts, which the Labor Department said accounts for only part of the decline.
- Manufacturing employment fell by 12,000 in February, weakening a sector prioritized by the administration.
- Responses diverged as White House adviser Kevin Hassett described the economy as solid, while Democrats and economists flagged renewed recession risk and potential shifts in Fed rate‑cut timing as energy prices rise from the Middle East conflict.