Overview

• Private employers added only 77,000 jobs in February, significantly below economists' expectations of 140,000 to 170,000 jobs.
• The slowdown marks the smallest monthly job growth since July, following an upwardly revised 186,000 jobs added in January.
• Job losses were concentrated in trade, transportation, utilities (-33,000), education and health services (-28,000), and information services (-14,000).
• Leisure and hospitality led gains with 41,000 new jobs, while construction added 26,000 and manufacturing grew by 18,000 positions.
• Economists attribute the hiring slowdown to policy uncertainty, including new tariffs, and declining consumer spending, raising fears of potential stagflation.